Not As Planned
by AlwaysATexasGirl
Summary: All Sandy wanted to do was visit her family, but with SpongeBob tagging along, she know's her vacation won't turn out as she had intended it too. Could this trip change thier relationship? Or will an uninvited guest ruin the possibility? (Spandy)
1. The Accident

**Author's Note: Hey! It's been a while since I've posted something and I thought why not write a story where it's not based in the ocean? I decided to make this multi-chapter story and here's the first chapter, hope you like it!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the SpongeBob SquarePants characters mentioned in this fanfiction… that's why it's called**_** fan**_**fiction :)**

_There she was, mixing an ingredient into her mysterious concoction._

He smiled deviously. This would be a surprise she wouldn't forget anytime soon. He had to wait for her to stop pouring liquid into a beaker, so he could begin with his attack_. _

_Squirrels were high tempered, especially this one, and who knows what would happen if his attack happened at the wrong time. _The scientist paused for a moment, examining her potion as if it were a priceless painting.

_This was his chance._

The attacker sprang up and made a karate stance in the air, running towards her, he swung his gloved hand in her direction shouting "Hi-ya_!"_

The scientist pushed him aside. "_SpongeBob_! Can't you see I'm busy?"

"Sorry Sandy." SpongeBob's attack hadn't gone as planned. Sandy didn't even have her karate gloves in her lab coat this time. "You seemed a bit down so I thought a little karate might cheer you up..."

"Nothin's gonna cheer me up till this works!"

"Have you already tried it out?" SpongeBob said hiding behind a flask, making a silly face.

"When I'm finished. But I'd like to do this alone."

"What about Karate? And Patrick's waiting outside for us all to go to Jellyfish Fields! Can't you take a break?"

"No! If I don't get this done-"

"Let Pat and me help you!" SpongeBob suggested, but immediately knew that was a bad idea. "Or I'll help and make sure Patrick stays _away_ from your lab at the same time!"

"SpongeBob. I have a 48 hour deadline."

At first SpongeBob relaxed. 48 was a big number -_right_? Then he did the math in his head and noticed Sandy _didn't_ have a lot of time. "That only gives you two days to finish this! _We_'ve got to get to work!" He exclaimed and quickly grabbed a jar. "I'll fix it Sandy! I know what to do!" He kneeled down ready to pour the substance in the jar into a beaker, but Sandy pulled him away before he could damage anything.

"SpongeBob. Please. I'm stressed out enough how it is. It's almost finished. I gotta get this thing ready for testin' by tomorrow, I really don't want to lose any packing time."

A smile crept on to SpongeBob's face. "Pack? Are you gonna take a break from inventing?"

"Kind of."

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" SpongeBob pulled Sandy into a quick hug.

"For what?"

"For _finally_ taking a break from your job so you can play with us!"

"I won't be able to play with y'all."

The sponge looked up to her. "What do you mean?"

"I'm not packin' my lab equipment away. I'm planning on spending time with my family. I'm packing for Texas." The squirrel confessed and mentally prepared herself for a bunch of tears and 'whys?' from the sea creature in front of her. But instead she opened her eyes to see him jumping excitingly.

"Can I come with you? Please Sandy! It'll be so much fun! We can have barbed Q's and we can go line dancing! Patrick taught me how to do that recently and- LET'S TAKE PATRICK WITH US! Sandy, you gotta let us come with you!"

She put some chemicals on a high shelf just in case SpongeBob decided to 'help' her again. "Y'all can't come."

"Why not? Is it another boring science convention? I can be quiet! Please let me come! I can't stand it when you're gone!"

"He really can't." Patrick must have gotten tired of waiting outside, "SpongeBob cried like a baby the whole time."

"I did not-"

Patrick ignored his best friend and smiled goofily at Sandy. "He also talked about all the stuff he liked about you, like your huge buck teeth and-"

SpongeBob, facing Sandy, elbowed his friend making the starfish forget what he had been saying seconds before.

"Sorry about that." SpongeBob nervously played with his hands as Sandy walked back to her desk and sniffed her experiment. She looked disgusted. "I think I'm gonna put some acorn flavoring in this."

The sponge watched her leave and then laid his eyes on the strange mix of chemicals Sandy had been putting together. "I wonder what this does." He shook it lightly to watch the colors mix into each other.

"Just drink it and we'll find out." Patrick suggested.

"I can't do that, Sandy doesn't like it when we play with her experiments."

The sea star rolled his eyes. "Think about it SpongeBob. It's not playing; It's helping. When Sandy sees that you tried out her drink, you can tell her how to make it better."

SpongeBob sniffed it and put mix back onto the desk. "It smells awful."

"Pfft. Scaredy-Cat."

"I am not a scaredy-cat!" SpongeBob pushed Patrick aside as he reached for Sandy's mixture, but Patrick already held it I his hands. "Give me that!" Both friends stopped fighting as they felt something wet spill onto their feet.

"Barnacles! Sandy's gonna kill us for this!" SpongeBob kneeled down next to what had once filled the glass container, only to watch his hands absorb it.

"Woah. How'd you do that?" Patrick asked.

The sponge stared at the spot on the ground where the liquid once was. "I-I didn't _want to_ a-absorb that! Patrick, we better get outta here before-"

It was too late.

Sandy Cheeks already stood in the lab doorway with the last ingredient in her hands.

"Why do y'all wanna get outta here?"

SpongeBob jumped up and Patrick, still holding the empty beaker, pointed accusingly to SpongeBob.

"SpongeBob's hands ate your weird drink."

The sponge ran up to her. "It was an accident! I didn't mean to absorb it... all I wanted was to-" He stopped mid-sentence and inhaled, just to cough the water back out afterwards. His eyes widened as he started choking on the water running down his throat. _'What's wrong with me?'_

Sandy tore off SpongeBob's helmet and the sponge, who was now slightly green due to his yellow color and lack of oxygen, fainted.

Her serum had done the opposite of what it should have done.

Sandy started pressing her paws on SpongeBob's chest to squeeze the water out of him, which was ironic since he was a sponge. He wouldn't wake up. A tear streaked down her cheek, but then she remembered another way to revive a person.

Sandy hesitated before taking a deep breath. Survival training was something she rarely thought of, but the first aid lessons reappeared in her mind as her friend lay unconscious on the floor. The squirrel bent down over to him, closed her eyes and began to do CPR. After a few attempts to get any extra water out of him and cardiopulmonary resuscitation, Sandy pressed her ear on his chest.

'_He's breathing!'_

She was overjoyed when SpongeBob's blue eyes fluttered open. Sandy bent down and hugged him tightly. "I'm so glad you're alive! For a second I thought I lost ya, Spongy!"

SpongeBob blushed slightly at the nickname, but then frowned. "Why do I taste acorns?"

"I...uh... do you know what CPR is?"

He shook his head and listened to Sandy explain it, although Patrick didn't want to believe what the scientist was saying.

"I think we all know that isn't really how it went..."

"What?" The squirrel loosened her grip on SpongeBob.

"It was obvious that you _wanted_ to kiss him."

There was a visible pink color on Sandy's cheeks. "I did not kiss him! Y'all were the ones playin' in a dangerous laboratory; there was no other way to revive him!"

"So you saved him with true loves kiss!" Patrick ended Sandy's 'story' with a goofy smile.

SpongeBob blushed and pointed to his water helmet on the floor. "Sandy? Can you maybe give me my helmet?"

"You won't need that anymore."

"Is that what the potion did?" SpongeBob stared at Sandy in awe, and then jumped up. "I can breathe air!" He said and deeply inhaled the oxygen. He started dancing around Sandy's yard. "I can breathe air! I don't need a helmet around Sandy anymore! I can ki-" he stopped in his tracks when he noticed that Sandy was staring at him shocked and unhappy at the same time.

"I guess now you have to take me with you on your vacation, huh?" SpongeBob smirked.

"Shoot!" Sandy went back to her desk. "What am I gonna do?"

"Sandy..." SpongeBob began as he put a hand on her shoulder, but the squirrel flinched away.

"Why'd you do this? Now I'm gonna have to move back for sure!"

"_Move_?"

"Go away-"

But he didn't. "Can't you fix it?"

"No! I've been trying to 'fix' this darn thing for months and y'all just came in here and ruined it!" She screamed, Patrick froze when he saw her staring straight at him. "Should I start running now?" The starfish asked and didn't wait for a reply to start sprinting out of the door. Sandy hesitated for a second, as if she was going to run after him, but then she just sulked back onto the floor.

"Sandy? You said you're just _visiting _Texas_."_

"My bosses weren't real clear about the purpose of this trip." Sandy confessed. "I ain't gonna stay there. I can't. I don't know what in tarnation those chimps are thinkin'! They sent me a letter saying I should take a break and get used to the climate in Texas, and I do wanna see my family but it's my duty to study y'all _and _build these crazy gadgets as which half of 'em only work underwater. My job would be useless up there. Me being able to breathe water was supposed to make my bosses change their minds. Now I have no serum which means no gills or plan whatsoever to show them that I'm better off down here."

"Why don't you show them that your concoction _did_ work?"

"I couldn't take you with me..."

"Oh please Sandy!"

"SpongeBob, you can't come with me. You couldn't and _wouldn't _even leave the Krusty Krab for two weeks!"

"TWO WEEKS? You've never been gone _that_ long!" SpongeBob began to freak out. "What if they make you stay there? What am I gonna do? Sandy? I can't breathe water anymore! Where am I gonna live Sandy!? You _have_ to take me with you!" He tugged the arms of her lab coat and cried.

"It'd be better if you come with me so I can figure out how to make the antidote... but..."

"_Really_?" SpongeBob's bright blue eyes lit up.

Sandy didn't know how to reply. She just _really_ couldn't let him tag along. What would her family think?

_'Bringin' a sea critter home? What if they think we're dating or somethin!' _Sandy pondered the situation. She had mentioned the naïve sponge a couple of times when she had talked to her family. Okay, maybe more than a couple of times. They knew he existed, let's put it that way. They also knew that Sandy _wasn't_ crazy enough to fall in love with a sea creature!

The Texan sighed as she looked at those sapphire blue orbs staring directly into hers. '_SpongeBob, you owe me for this...'_

"Alright."

SpongeBob threw his arms around Sandy. "Thank you! Thank you!"

"Can you take 2 weeks off work or somethin'?"

The sponge couldn't believe his ears. Was Sandy _really_ gonna let him accompany her? He nodded eagerly.

"The bus arrives Saturday morning at seven. _Don't_ _be late_."

A few minutes and _a lot _of"Thank you"s later SpongeBob grabbed his helmet, which was now full of air, and ran off to his pineapple. Elated and ready to get ready for his trip with Sandy.


	2. A Not-So-Good Morning

**Authors Note: Happy Thanksgiving and thank you so so much for all the positive responses! I really appreciate it!**

**Here's Chapter 2:**** A not-so-good Morning**

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><p>That irritating, monotone beeping noise came -once again- from her night stand. The squirrel opened her eyes the tiniest bit, just to see the red numbers 5:30 glowing in the dark. A tired Sandy slammed the snooze button, quickly shutting her eyes again. After <em>weeks<em> of working on her suspired water-breathing serum, it had been destroyed in a blink of an eye.

Now, she had spent the last two stressful days packing her bags, booking _all_ of SpongeBob's plane rides and hotel rooms, asking her family to let SpongeBob also stay at their house, explaining to them that her friend was_ not_ her boyfriend and he was_ only_ coming because of a lab accident, _and _working on the antidote for the now air breathing sponge.

To put it this way, Sandy was exhausted.

She pulled the covers over her skin, hoping to get a few more minutes of precious sleep. But she couldn't get any rest with the constant rhythm of someone inhaling…

_'Wait. I live alone. Why do I hear breathing?'_

Sandy kicked her blanket off, turned on the lamp on her bed side and quickly did a karate stance, only to see her favorite sparring partner standing right in front of her.

"SpongeBob?!"

"Good Morning!" SpongeBob beamed to her discomfort._ 'How can he be so happy so early in the morning?' _Sandy sat back down on her bed. _'At what time did I tell him he should come over again?'_

Sandy stopped asking herself questions and turned to the giddy sponge in front of her. "What are you... uh... doing here?"

"Oh I just thought I'd wait till you'd wake up. I'm all packed see?" SpongeBob eagerly held up his luggage. "I've got everything ready! And guess what? No one noticed I was wearing a helmet 'sept Gary, but he isn't very happy with me because Squidward's gonna take care of him. And _he _wasn't too excited about _that_, but his eyes lit up as I told him I _really_ needed _his_ help, because I was going on a vacation for two weeks. I knew Squidward secretly does like snail-sitting! And he said he's happy that I'm gonna go away for a while- isn't that sweet? But I didn't tell him that I was going with _you_, because Mr. Krabs made a funny face when I said that and Pat-"

"It's alright, SpongeBob. Can you please get out of my room?" Sandy looked down at her nightgown and frowned.

"Oh yeah, sorry." He apologized and awkwardly sidestepped out of the door.

Sandy waited for the door to close before walking over to her suitcase.

_'This sure is going to be an interesting trip.' _She thought as she grabbed the folded outfit on top of it and went off into the bathroom to get ready.

SpongeBob watched Sandy come down the stairs. Instead of her normal attire, which was just a bikini, the squirrel was clothed in a purple tank top and jeans, along with a towel wrapped around the top of her head.

"Why are you wearing _that_?" SpongeBob asked, obviously not too excited about Sandy's new choice of wardrobe.

"Because I ain't gonna be wearing a bikini while visiting folks who barely see me!"

SpongeBob still looked unimpressed. "I _kind of_ was talking about the towel on your head..."

Sandy quickly tore the towel off her head and fluffed up the fur around her ears. She smiled sheepishly. "I forgot to take that off."

SpongeBob then smiled as well and jumped up. "I made breakfast!" He exclaimed before he ran into the kitchen and came back out with large tray of food, covered in plates of pancakes to kelp browns to fruitsalad to -_of course-_ Krabby Patties. "Oh and here's your coffee. Acorn spiced." He smiled as he set the mug in front of her and then sat down himself.

Sandy stared at the huge meal in front of her. _Did SpongeBob not know that there would be plenty of food for them on the way there? _"Thank you..." She slowly reached for a spoon and began to stir her coffee.

"My pleasure Sandy. By the way, since y_ou're_ the one taking me on this amazing trip, what are we gonna do the whole time?"

Sandy looked up from her drink and took a folded paper out her pocket. She had no idea what her parents had planned. She did know how they'd get there though. Sandy unfolded the paper and told SpongeBob about their upcoming ride. "We're going to ride the bus to Hawaii, which takes forever. Then we've got a few hours to wait on our plane in Honolulu, but-"

"_Honolululu_?"

"Honolulu_."_

_"Hononolulululu?"_

_"_Honolulu_."_

_"Honononolululululu?"_

_"_SpongeBob!"

"Okay, please continue."

"After _Honolulu_, we gotta catch our flight to-"

"_Flight?_"

"Yes. We're going to_ fly_ to the west coast; otherwise we'd have to ride the bus even longer. An' trust me. We don't want to do that. We'll stay at a hotel for a night in California, and then we finally get to fly to Houston from there, which takes approximately 4 hours."

"Weren't we going to Texas?"

"Yes. We are going to Texas. Can I eat now?"

SpongeBob nodded and put a few kelp browns on his plate.

After breakfast, SpongeBob went up to wash the dishes and Sandy went upstairs to finish getting ready.

In her diving suit, the squirrel brought down her luggage. "Okay SpongeBob, are we ready to go or-" she stopped when she noticed the male was huddled up in a corner, clutching onto his backpack. "You okay?" She glanced at the kitchen sink, where he was last. The dishes were washed, which meant he hadn't been huddled there too long.

SpongeBob loosened his grip on his back pack as Sandy approached him. "You're not an alien, are you?"

"No."

"Then… why do you always take me to the moon?"

"We ain't goin' to the moon."

"But you said that you and I are going to Houston..." His voice trailed off. _Were all land creatures aliens? What if she tried to pull him in to their evil ways? What if Sandy's serum was meant for him and all she wants to do is recruit him in their society?_

"Yes...?" Sandy didn't seem to shocked that he had found out her secret identity and doubt started creeping in to SpongeBob's mind.

"Houston _isn't_ the capitol city of the moon?"

The squirrel's mouth dropped open, and then she shut it again. She didn't know how to respond and SpongeBob knew he had to explain himself. "Patrick said, the astronauts say 'Houston we have a problem' because they contact the aliens that rule the moon." He saw her expression and nervously chuckled. Accusing your friend of being an alien is probably _not_ the best way to start a two week trip together.

Sandy stared blankly at the sponge and took the small green backpack out of his hands. "There are no aliens rulin' the moon and Houston is a big city in Texas. Now c'mon! If we miss the bus it'll be mighty expensive."

She pulled him up and pushed him out of her tree house. Although Sandy did make sure SpongeBob was wearing his helmet before opening the door to the cool ocean, anyone could tell she was extremely aggravated.

Her morning wasn't as nice and peaceful as she had planned, and SpongeBob's "Houston is the capitol of the moon" didn't help.

For SpongeBob the wait for the bus ride was nothing but a long awkward silence, the fact that Sandy still let him come with her meant she couldn't be_ that _mad.

_Maybe she was just tired._

_Hopefully._


	3. Aloha America!

**Authors Note: Sorry for the wait... I have been extremely busy lately and I couldn't get this finished till today. Anyway, thank you guys so much for the responses!**

**Chapter 3: Aloha America!**

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><p>Air is dry, tasteless and boring. So much different from the cozy, salty water that would normally rush through the holes in his spongy body- SpongeBob couldn't even take in the cool water before getting on to the bus, <em>the stupid air helmet was in the way!<em>

Sandy was right. The bus ride _was_ long. So long that the ride even had a stewardess and meals like in a long distance airplane flight. During the first part of the ride, Sandy had been busy thinking of possible ingredients for the antidote and was fine with SpongeBob sitting on the window seat. But she _wasn't_ fine whenever her traveling companion saw anything "exciting" or vaguely "different" than the rest of the ocean landscape. The two eventually dozed off during the ride, but when SpongeBob tried to use Sandy's tail as a blanket, nap time was _over_.

At that point, when SpongeBob looked out of the window, the vast amount of sand was the only thing that would have reminded _anyone_ of Bikini Bottom. Even the flower clouds were nowhere to be seen, which meant they had almost reached the surface. Sandy smiled at the thought of _real _ground under her feet, and SpongeBob smiled because Sandy was smiling.

Soon enough, helmets where passed out for all water-breathing passengers. SpongeBob, forgetting the reason why Sandy let him come with her, took a helmet as well, but Sandy quickly took it and handed it back to the bus attendant.

"Hey! I need that!" SpongeBob reached out for the helmet, leaving the stewardess confused.

"No you don't, silly. You breathe air now, remember?" Sandy tapped on SpongeBob's air helmet. The fish handing out helmets then passed 'his' fish bowl to someone else.

The ride ended quickly after that. An announcement told all sea creatures to put on their helmets, for they'd be draining the water out of the bus as they reach land. Finally, a loud gurgling sound came from the back of the bus and unexperienced sea creatures, including SpongeBob, gasped at the rapid sinking of water. Once out of the bus SpongeBob took in the breathtaking view of the beach and the huge skyscrapers of Honolulu. The way those two met together was something a Bikini Bottomite didn't see every day.

As SpongeBob and Sandy started walking across the white sand in the direction of the airport, beachgoers would greet them with a word SpongeBob didn't understand. Eventually it bugged him and he felt the need to ask Sandy about it.

"What does _Aloha_ mean and why is everyone saying it?"

"Aloha means hello and good bye."

"_Oooh_." SpongeBob thought about it for a second, and then ran over to a random tourist, "Aloha! I'm SpongeBob! Aloha... Aloha!"_.._.and he greeted every passerby until something else captured his interest.

SpongeBob ran towards a building and pointed towards two mannequins in the window display. "Look Sandy! Look! They're wearing _pineapple_ clothes! Look!"

Sandy walked over to the gift shop. The two mannequins had matching outfits with a pattern of large orange and yellow pineapples and a pink background.

SpongeBob had stopped in front of a sign. The squirrel took a glance at it and thought her friend was staring at a picture of hula dancers, but he was actually reading the words beneath them.

_A lei. Buy one of our beautiful Polynesian flower garlands and give a loved one the famous Hawaiian Symbol for love and friendship!_

_'Love and friendship?'_ He eyed a picture of the flowers and then swung the door open, ringing the bell that told the cashier that she had a customer.

"Aaaaaloha!" SpongeBob sang and quickly went over to the cashier. "I'd like the pineapple shirt in the window and the matching dress... _for the lady_." He winked at Sandy, who quickly turned away from him. SpongeBob figured she was either mad or blushing. He hoped it was the latter.

"Would you like a lei with that?"

"No thanks. But I _do_ want one of those pretty flower necklaces, you know, the ones for friendship and_ love?"_

The cashier rolled her eyes and stuffed the garland in a plastic bag before handing it to him. "Here's your-"

"Oh! Can I get that flower necklace too?" He said pointing toward a red lei. "Don't you think it'd match my tie, Sandy?"

"Sure." She said without even looking in his direction. She was searching for something to buy herself. SpongeBob then noticed the hibiscus flower in the lady's hair.

"Do you sell those pretty flowers here too?" He leaned closer to the cashier and began to whisper "I wanna get one for my..." SpongeBob giggled. "_squirrel-_friend!"

Just then SpongeBob's "squirrel-friend" walked over and tapped his shoulder, making him freeze and quickly scoot out of the way for her to get through. Sandy put a pretty bowl filled with seashells on the counter. SpongeBob looked up at his friend, she smiled at him, then she swiped her credit card across the machine and pointed towards the clothes in SpongeBob's hands. "I'll pay for his stuff too." Sandy figured the salary at the Krusty Krab wasn't too much and when SpongeBob didn't bugde at her offer, she guessed she was right. The cashier raised her eyebrows but didn't say a thing as she wrapped the bowl in an old Hawaiian newspaper and handed her two bags with their purchases in them.

Outside, SpongeBob wrapped the purple lei around Sandy's neck, and then put on his own. Smiling widely at the pretty garlands around both of their necks, he giggled. _'Sandy and I are matching!' _He waited for Sandy to pack her souvenir in her suitcase before they continued thier walk to the airport.

The airport seemed to have the word 'sixties' written all over it. The light up 'Aloha!' sign on top of the building just increased SpongeBob's new found love for the word. While they walked towards their terminal Sandy blocked his constant greetings to strangers out of her head. Luckily, she didn't block out the airport announcement that broadcasted their flights boarding time.

Sandy tugged on his suitcase, "C'mon Spongy! We can go in the plane now!"

"Oh! Okay!" He scuttled after her through a long hallway and then through the round metal door to get inside the plane. He sat next to Sandy on a seat similar to the ones in the bus. Only this time, she had the window seat.

"Dang! There are no TVs in this one!" Sandy frowned at the person in the seat in front of her. SpongeBob bent forward and tapped on the stranger's shoulders.

"You mean there are normally _TVs _in here?"

"Sometimes, I guess they think that people sitting 30,000 feet above the ground don't need any distractions." The stranger turned around only for a second and then complained about the seats being uncomfortable.

SpongeBob ignored him and turned to Sandy. All color had vanished from his face. "th- thirty _thousand _feet?"

Sandy faced the now white sea sponge, "Yeah, but you wanted to fly, right?" She smiled faintly. Hoping that reminder would cheer him up.

"But I'm only 4 inches-" He was interrupted by an announcement telling them to get ready for takeoff and what to do in case of a crash.

"We can crash?!" SpongeBob rattled Sandy's arm, taking her attention from the safety instructions.

The squirrel nodded, and then quickly corrected herself. "It doesn't happen often. I promise."

SpongeBob still didn't feel comfortable, Sandy handed him gum once the plane started moving –for the pressure in his ears she said. Coming from the deep ocean, pressure was no problem for him- _his fear of being so far above his home was._

"Let us know if we can make your flight any more enjoyable_." _The flight attendant ended the announcements.

"How can this be _enjoyable_?"

"SpongeBob, trust me on this," She laid her paw on his hand and smiled, "we've done far more crazy stuff than this!"

"But I feel sick."

"The ride just started. It ain't that bad. I promise!"

"For you maybe, this plane is shaking!"

"We just took off, that's normal-" She saw her friend reach for an airsickness bag and begin to vomit. She quickly averted her eyes from the sight. After a few shocked stares from the animals around them, once he was finished throwing up, Sandy hesitantly patted SpongeBob's back. She assured him that it wouldn't be as long as the bus ride, which relieved the sponge. _'We won't be above the clouds for so long…' _He took a deep breath and gave her a wobbly smile.

"So... Uh... How long exactly is this ride going to take?"

Sandy gulped; she knew her answer wasn't going to please him. "5 hours."

SpongeBob grabbed the paper bag and threw up again.


	4. Room Service

**Hey everyone! The one computer that had this chapter saved on it has a **_**terrible**_** internet connection, so I apologize for taking another long time to update this. (It's been 28 days)**

**Also I want to thank **_**everyone**_** who reviewed/faved/ followed this fanfic so far. I really, really appreciate it and am glad to hear you're enjoying it!**

**Edit: I just realized used the "track changes" tool on Word and forgot to actually delete my mistakes. ****Like the in sentence:"She inwardly sighed inwardly."**** XD I'm so sorry! I fixed it (and double checked it) now!**

**Chapter 4: Room Service**

_5 hours later..._

SpongeBob had thrown up _two more_ times but once the takeoff turbulences had stopped, his anxiety dissolved in to anticipation for every minute they got closer to their destination.

Sandy told him a little about Texas and he couldn't wait to see the meadows filled with bright wildflowers and the wide open skies that the squirrel had mooned about half the ride.

Finally, once the plane had landed and the doors opened, SpongeBob grabbed his carryon bags and sprinted past the seated passengers outside. Once out, he was lost. Not only were there no signs of Texas, but he couldn't even see Sandy behind him.

'Where is she?' He asked himself, and then remembered he left her in the plane. SpongeBob sulked back towards the end of the terminal, watching various land animals exit the plane, waiting until he saw Sandy's familiar face.

He flung his arms around her. Sandy was startled, but returned the unexpected embrace.

"It sure is good to be stateside again." She mumbled as SpongeBob parted from their hug.

"Yeah, too bad we had to go on those things to get here. Don't get me wrong, I love flying, Sandy, but being 30000 feet above the ground isn't really my… uh… preferred transportation."

"Actually, the moon is much further away from Bikini Bottom than this."

"Oh… If that's the case- I won't ever get airsickness again!" He declared, not because Sandy's statement had changed his mind, but because he realized Sandy wouldn't take him on another trip if she thought he'd vomit on her lap.

Sandy just playfully rolled her eyes and beckoned him to follow her.

After a long ride over traffic-filled roads the two arrived at their hotel and finally set foot on ground outside of the airport. It was a nice warm night in LA, not as overbearingly hot as it had been the last time she passed through. But Sandy didn't have time for enjoying the weather, the traffic on the way there made it so that they'd missed the check-in time.

"C'mon, we have to hurry!"

But SpongeBob froze, staring the expensive looking and nicely decorated hotel in front of them. He dropped his luggage in surprise. "Texas sure looks…_ fancy_…"

"_Actually_, we're in California." She said as she walked up the outdoor staircase that led to the hotel.

"Sandy! Wait!"

The squirrel spun around, "Yes?" She watched the sponge begin to rummage through his bag. "What are you doing?!"

"I have to change my outfit before we go in. I'm _underdressed_!" He said, pointing to the Christmas lights dangling from the palm trees and then to the massive staircase Sandy was standing on. "_We_ could see _movie stars_ in there."

She couldn't believe what was going on. "You can't just get dressed outside!"

"I was going to do it behind that bush over there." Sandy raced down the stairs and pulled SpongeBob up to the hotel entrance, before he could do anything stupid or in this case extremely embarrassing. "There are some things you just don't do." She explained as she swung the door open, thankful that it hadn't been locked yet. A young female chipmunk sat at the reception desk, typing rapidly on a computer keyboard.

"Howdy." Sandy let go of her friend's hand and put on a friendly face as she walked over towards the desk.

The hotel manager looked slightly annoyed by Sandy's choice of greeting. "Can I help you?"

"Yes please, I booked two rooms under the name Cheeks." SpongeBob stood next to her, stuffing his clothes back into his suitcase. The nice atmosphere in the entryway really made him regret having put on his normal clothes this morning.

"Yeah... It is ten PM; we only hand out keys before 9:45." The chipmunk flashed a fake smile at Sandy and turned back to her computer.

"Excuse me?" Sandy frowned.

"You may want to look for another place."

SpongeBob spoke up. "Why would we do that?"

"Huh?" The chipmunk just then noticed SpongeBob, Sandy explained the situation to him.

"Why don't you just give us the keys and we can all forget that this ever happened!" The sponge suggested.

"Oh, so _you_ book a room for tonight?" The chipmunk asked him. She seemed to have completely forgotten Sandy's presence.

"Actually my friend booked for me…" SpongeBob nudged Sandy, wanting the squirrel to be as friendly as she was before.

"Oh!" She pulled out a drawer and started rummaging in it. "Here are your keys." The chipmunk placed both room keys in SpongeBob's hand, touching it much longer than necessary. Sandy felt sick. She grabbed SpongeBob by the arm, ready to leave the reception area–but the other mammal immediately started a conversation with SpongeBob.

"You're a cute little guy."

Sandy's mouth fell wide open. _How dare this stranger flirt with her best friend!?_

A visible blush crept on to his cheeks and the receptionist giggled. "Uh…" SpongeBob chuckled, trying to think of a reply. "Thanks! You too! I mean, you're pretty. " He said, flashing a nervous smile at the chipmunk. Sandy closed her mouth and tried to keep calm.

"So…" the chipmunk began, "What are you doing in Hollywood? You got any plans on where to go? "

"Oh, we're going to Texas." SpongeBob beamed, looking at Sandy and then back to the receptionist.

The chipmunk looked surprised. _"Texas?" _She had meant seeing the walk of fame or a taking trip to Venice Beach, not _another state. "_You really wanna go there? Texas is so _boring_."

Sandy dropped SpongeBob's arm and clenched her fists. It was late. She had tried to be nice and this receptionist had been extremely rude, was openly flirting with_ her _traveling companion and now this chipmunk thinks it's okay to take _the name of Texas in vain…_

SpongeBob pulled his friend away from the counter before she could damage anything.

"Thank you very much for our keys, but it's getting late and we're past bedtime!" He called out to the receptionist, dragging the growling squirrel in the direction of the elevator.

Once upstairs, Sandy went into her hotel room. She slammed her suitcase on the floor and was about to unzip it. Her thoughts, however, stopped her.

She had acted as if she were _jealous._

_Why would she be jealous?_

The chipmunk had been flirting with SpongeBob, _her SpongeBob._

She corrected herself.

He didn't belong to her. But he was_ her_ friend. _She had to protect him from people like the receptionist!_ Sandy was pleased with that thought. It wasn't envy or anything of the sort; it was just some kind of motherly instinct that gave her the _need_ _to protect _her childish friend from_ bad_ people. _'That's it. I ain't jealous!'_ She silently answered the question that had come to her mind and snickered as she opened her suitcase. _'Jealous. As if. That girl doesn't even know who she was talking to- but I, I know him better than anyone else in the whole world- other than Patrick, who forgets everything anyway, and his parents. And then I guess Squidward is his neighbor and coworker so he may-' _her thoughts were interrupted by knocking on the door.

_"Room Service!"_

Sandy recognized the voice and opened her door to see SpongeBob with a huge smile on his face. "Did I trick you?"

Sandy laughed as SpongeBob tilted his head (or whole body in his case) to the side. "Can I show you something?"

"Sure, why not?"

She was surprised to see him race to the window, jumping up and down after he had thrown the curtains to the side.

"There it is! See! It's the Hollywood sign!" SpongeBob exclaimed, pointing towards something outside. The way her friend was so amused by everything made Sandy's lips purse into a smile. For the first time today, something other than the thought of Texas made her happy. She was friends with the most adorable, optimistic, and sweetest creature on the face of the earth.

SpongeBob spun around and his blue eyes met her dark chocolate ones. Sandy was confused by the way her heart quickened its pace. For a second, it seemed as if the world stopped spinning. All Sandy could do was listen to her heart pounding and look into those enormous, blue eyes in front of her.

"Can we go out on the balcony?"

Sandy came to her senses, shuddered and opened the door to let SpongeBob go out first.

They both sat down on two plastic chairs and listened to the muffled sound of waves crashing the shore in the distance. It seemed almost mute against the racing cars and nightlife conversations, but it was there. SpongeBob breathed in the salty, familiar taste of the ocean and out of the corner of his eye he saw Sandy smiling. He smiled as well, because, whatever it was, something had made Sandy happy at the end of the day.

When the squirrel felt something soft hit her shoulder, so she looked down to see that it was SpongeBob. His eyes were closed, so she supposed he was asleep, but then she saw him look up at her, grin and close his eyes again.

Sandy felt her heart start racing again, and this time, it wasn't because her thoughts were swimming in two cerulean colored pools. She felt her heart pounding, her stomach wrenching and her thoughts whirling when all that had happened was that SpongeBob smiled at her.

She sighed inwardly.

This wasn't the first time SpongeBob did something that made her feel this way.

Sandy knew what 'butterflies fluttering in your stomach' meant and she knew her heart would always beat louder and faster when she was excited or nervous. The scientist in her told her she was merely nervous- _but why would she only be nervous around SpongeBob?_

_That didn't make sense!_

Whatever feelings she had for the sponge leaning on her shoulder were platonic. They _had _to be. He was a sea creature, a _sea creature_!

_How could they even __kiss__ with those bulky helmets in the way?_

That's when Sandy realized it.

_SpongeBob and she weren't going to be wearing helmets throughout the trip._


	5. Jealousy

**Author's Note: Like at the beginning of every new chapter, I want to say "Thank you" to everyone who reviewed/faved/followed this fanfic. I'm really glad you all like it so far and love hearing your thoughts (and guesses) about the story! :)**

**Chapter 5: Jealousy**

Sandy's 'protective instincts' for her friend reappeared during their second flight and she immediately regretted booking seat number 22a for her bottom-dwelling friend. Sitting two rows behind him, she watched his nose constantly fill the gap between the two seats in front of her. She heard his voice nonstop, but whenever the yellow sea sponge wasn't talking, laughing or singing, a female voice would speak up or laugh. Sandy didn't know _who_ it was, she couldn't hear _what _they were talking about, but that just fueled her aggravation.

She was surprised the stewardess didn't come over and tell them to be quiet. The one time the flight attendant did stop by the two creatures seated in row 22, she joined the conversation for a few minutes!

Sandy was just glad that the plane ride was finally over, and then, when she realized _where_ they had just flown to, her heart started racing and she jumped up, wanting to run out of this plane and walk on her beloved _Texas _ground.

But, she had to wait for the passengers in front of her to get out first, and that's when her gaze met SpongeBob's. He waved, and a hamster sitting next to him smiled at her as well.

* * *

><p>Walking out of the airplane, a sudden blast of thick, humid air hit SpongeBob's skin and almost took all of his breath for a second. This was not the climate he expected after spending the last day in California and Hawaii. The two states they had previously been through where both very hot, but none of them had air like this.<p>

"Welcome to Houston!" A flight attendant said, grinning at him. She must have seen his shocked expression. He heard a familiar laugh from behind him and turned to see Sandy walking out the plane as well.

"I just love this weather!"

"You're the only one." An animal said as he walked past Sandy, whose arms were now spread out, as if the heat felt good as it soaked through her fur.

"It's so good to be home!" She exclaimed, twirling around. She suddenly grabbed SpongeBob's arm, "C'mon! We better get our suitcases and get outta this boring airport!"

Sandy led him under an arch with the words "Welcome to Houston, Texas" on it. SpongeBob's black shoes squeaked on the tile, and the sponge looked back at the hamster who had sat next to him, he didn't even have the chance to say 'good bye'. Maybe he'd see her around town someday, Texas couldn't be_ that _big. _'But this airport sure is.'_ He thought as Sandy swiftly led him out of the terminal.

"I'm so glad that awful plane ride is over." The squirrel said.

"I thought it was okay. I didn't throw up this time!"

"Great." She said sardonically, she had heard him talking to that girl the whole time. It bothered her.

SpongeBob saw a large clock on the wall. "How come it's 4 PM, when we took off at 9 AM and the ride only took five hours?"

"Because we flew east."

"But Sandy, that doesn't make any sense…"

"Of course it does, when you travel a certain distance, the time changes."

SpongeBob was confused. "What time is it in Bikini Bottom then?"

"It's 8 o'clock tomorrow mornin'."

"_We time-traveled?!"_

Sandy laughed, "I never thought of it that way."

The sponge thought of all the things Sandy had shown and explained to him. The squirrel was extremely smart- no doubt about that. He liked having a friend that seemed to know everything. Well, _almost _everything. "Did you know the girl I sat next to has a _PHD_ in _science_?"

Sandy frowned. "No... Why?"

"I don't know. I was just shocked that she was _so _smart!"

"Knowledge comes with experience. If she was locked up in a university for so long -I doubt she could know all that much about science like someone who faces the boundaries of physics every day."

"That reminds me; she said she wished she could talk to you. She says it's unhealthy for a squirrel to live underwater." He gave Sandy a concerned glance before continuing. "_Lydia_ said the pressure could damage your lungs and the lack of light may cause harm to your eyesight."

"_Lydia_?"

The sponge nodded. "She's a Syrian hamster. But where she's from, they call themselves 'golden hamsters'. She isn't really gold, she has blonde fur. But she _does _have a heart of gold!

"Oh really?"

"Yeah, I _really_ like her! She was so friendly and open."

Sadly, SpongeBob was oblivious to how this conversation was hurting Sandy's feelings.

"She has buck teeth like you, Sandy." He said, eyeing his friend's lips. He was a little disappointed they weren't smiling. But then, maybe that was better. Smiles distracted him, especially Sandy's.

Sandy nodded, already knowing that the other rodent would have a similar jaw build as her.

"She's a _hamster_."

"You've already told me." Sandy reminded him, wanting him to stop talking about the stranger as soon as possible.

"I was kinda surprised she didn't have a long fluffy tail like you or Danielle."

"_Danielle_?"

"Oh, I read that off her nametag. I love nametags! Don't you? They're so important, I mean, imagine a customer forgets to get ketchup and they don't know the employees name, that's so embarrassing! One time, I lost my nametag; it was like losing my identity! I thought my life-"

"Who is Danielle?" Sandy interrupted.

"That's the hotel receptionist from yesterday, you know, the one with those white stripes that went down the back of her neck."

The squirrel clenched her fists. "The chipmunk..."

"Is that what they're called? Our stewardess was also a chipmunk- she was _really_ pretty Sandy! Did you see her? That soft fluffy fur and-"

"I saw her!" Sandy's nails dug into the palms of her paws as her traveling companion continued.

"It's a shame that chipmunks have such a high pitched voice, it's like they breathe helium or something."

_SpongeBob __was complaining about high pitched voices? _Sandy took a deep breath, but before she could speak up, the poriferan corrected himself. "Their voice pitch wasn't the problem. They were lacking some kind of accent, so they sound, I don't know, different," he thought about it. "They spoke just like anyone else in Bikini Bottom." SpongeBob enjoyed being able to talk about girls to someone. He hadn't done such a thing since a sleepover with Patrick during high school. He shuddered at the thought.

Too bad Sandy wasn't enjoying their conversation at all. '_Shouldn't SpongeBob be into sponge girls?!' _She asked herself, sending a concerned glance to her friend.

That thought didn't suit her very well either, but it seemed much more comforting right now than ever. They were going to be surrounded by mammals for the next two weeks! Mammals with _fluffy tails_ that were _pretty_ with southern_ accents, _mammals that were _smart _and had _buck teeth _andeverything else SpongeBob had just said he liked.

_'If that is really what he's into,'_ dread filled Sandy's thoughts,_ 'this is going to be one long trip.'_

The squirrel saw her suitcase riding on the baggage claim, happy to have a reason to leave her friend, she walked over to it. When she got back, SpongeBob had already found his as well and quit talking about his new 'friends'.

"So…" He leaned on his suitcase, "where do we go now?"

She led the way towards the exit. SpongeBob was caught by surprise when they entered a large hall where a bunch of animals were crowded in front of the door they had exited.

"Here's where everybody picks their guests up from the airport." Sandy remarked, not even glancing at the crowd.

SpongeBob liked seeing all the friendly faces holding welcome signs. He read the colorful signs, some of them were even in foreign languages, but he couldn't find theirs.

"Why can't I see our names?"

"We gotta get outta here to see our driver..." She laughed while saying the last word and took SpongeBob's hand to guide him out of the crowd. As they got closer to the door, a miserable feeling caught SpongeBob by surprise. _It was that stuffy air again._

Sandy ignored it, as she walked through the glass doors and out into a dark, roofed car pool area. The thick air and the concrete _everywhere_ wasn't the only thing that shocked him about 'Texas'. This place was _huge, _as if it was made for someone entirely else...

He heard heavy steps behind him and turned around just to see a giant walking in his direction about to step on him. Sandy grabbed her friend and pulled him to safety.

"Okay partner, here's somethin' I didn't tell you yet. Y'know the saying everything's bigger in Texas?"

SpongeBob nodded, shivering from the near death experience. He didn't really know the saying, but with the giants and these humongous objects, he agreed with it all.

"Well... when we were in Hawaii and California, I tried to avoid places like this -but a certain someone..." Her eyes squinted, but the warm smile stretched across her face showed her admiration for that someone, "wanted us to meet him here and so... I'm sorry. I promise you we'll get out of here as soon as we can."

"Are there places like this in _Honululululu_, too?"

Sandy didn't bother to correct him this time. "Humans live everywhere up here on land. You just have to know when to hide from 'em."

"Like when?"

"Like now!" Sandy grabbed his arm and ran behind an oversized trash can.

That's when something caught her attention and she started giggling and waving.

SpongeBob tried to see what she was looking at, but the rolling tires of huge, glossy, metal bodies and the gas that came from it fogged his view. Once the strange vehicles had passed them, SpongeBob could make out a figure of a rodent wearing a cowboy hat.

_'Does Sandy know this guy?'_

With the smoke gone, the sponge could actually see the newcomer more clearly.

_He_ was a tall, muscular and handsome squirrel, and his adoring gaze was fixated on _Sandy_.


	6. A Cheeky Introduction

**This chapter turned out a **_**bit **_**longer than planned… but we've finally reached 10.000 words! Thank you guys so much for all the feedback, without you all I don't know where this story would be. Also, there are references to the episode "Rodeo Daze" in this chapter, but you don't have to know the episode to understand what's going on. :)**

**Chapter 6:**

**A Cheeky Introduction**

SpongeBob stared with wide-eyes at the newcomer. Sandy, however, dropped her carryon bag and raced over to the other squirrel with her arms spread open. The male squirrel caught her in a tight embrace.

SpongeBob gulped. He_ really_ shouldn't have come with her. No wonder she hesitated when he asked if he could come with her! _Sandy had a boyfriend in Texas._ SpongeBob's heart plummeted to the ground as he watched the two squirrels.

"Sandy? I can't believe it's really you!" The male squirrel said in a deep southern drawl as they parted form their hug.

'_Oh great, he even talks with her accent… they must be made for each other.'_ SpongeBob thought, gripping his tie.

"And _I _can't believe you still have that awful hat!" Sandy replied and tore the cowboy hat off of the squirrel, laughing.

"Okay, I can believe it's you." The stranger said as he grabbed the brown cowboy hat out of Sandy's paws and put it back on his head, adjusting it so it wouldn't fall over his eyes.

Sandy laughed. "I missed y'all so much!"

"Well, guess how much we missed you?" Sandy's gaze adverted to the ground as the other squirrel continued. "The next time you stay away from us_ that_ long, I'm gonna have to talk to those Treedome Enterprise folks personally and force them to move ya back up here." SpongeBob couldn't believe his ears; this was officially the worst day of his life.

But, to his surprise, Sandy grabbed the squirrel's shirt and begged him not to do it.

"Why not? It's not like they'd actually listen to me..." He drawled and looked over to where SpongeBob and Sandy's luggage was standing. He smiled at SpongeBob and nudged Sandy, who had already let go of his shirt. "So… Is that the fella you always talk about?"

Sandy glared at the squirrel for second and a blush streaked across her cheeks. Sandy's behavior confused SpongeBob as he watched his friend hurry over towards him. "Sorry for the lack of introduction!" Sandy then pointed to the squirrel. "That's Randy. Randy, this is SpongeBob. Yes…" Her eyes narrowed, "The guy I told you about."

Randy walked over and held out his hand, but the sponge was reluctant at even touching Sandy's 'boyfriend's' hand. And when SpongeBob did shake hands with Randy, he avoided making eye contact. Sandy groaned and Randy gave her an amused look before turning back to the sea sponge.

"Howdy! SpongeBob, Sandy wouldn't stop talkin' about you the last time she visited!" The other squirrel said, squeezing SpongeBob's hand in a friendly, but for the sponge painful, matter. "I doubt she told you much about ole me." He continued, reading the look on SpongeBob's face. "My sis is much more interested in y'all sea critters than her family..." He gave Sandy a teasing grin and SpongeBob jolted up in surprise.

"_Sis_? Like_... sister_?"

Randy slowly let go of SpongeBob's hand and gave him a sly grin. Sandy then realized what had been going on in SpongeBob's head. _'Golly, he must've thought Randy was my-'_ Sandy looked at her brother. Surely SpongeBob didn't think Randy and her were together. She would have told SpongeBob if she was in a relationship. "Randy 'n' I are twins…" She said, squeezing herself between her brother and the sponge. "I told you that, remember?"

SpongeBob chuckled nervously, "I must have forgotten…"

"Well, that doesn't matter anymore." Randy said, taking Sandy's suitcase. She tore it right back out of his hands as soon as she noticed. Randy rolled his eyes at his sister. "We better leave the airport, Ma has some great food planned and I'm pretty sure y'all will love it."

"I bet." Sandy replied and started walking towards the exit of the carpool area. SpongeBob watched the two squirrels laugh and talk together. Sandy had mentioned _something_ about having a brother. _But wasn't her brother a clown or something? _He shook his head. Sandy said there_ were_ clowns at the rodeo, but not that her brother was a clown. He didn't look like a clown.

"You coming, SpongeBob?" Sandy's Texan twang could be heard over the all the other's in the airport and tore the sponge out of his thoughts.

"Oh yeah, I'm coming!" SpongeBob hurried to catch up with the two squirrels.

* * *

><p>Randy Cheeks drove a pickup truck with five seats in it. SpongeBob didn't even know something like that existed until he was seated in the back row next to all the suitcases. Sandy sat shotgun next to her older brother and they talked a <em>lot<em>. About places to eat, beaches and their favorite vacation spots, things that happened in the past, how the people they grew up with turned out, Randy's job, the Rodeo, the CMAs in November… SpongeBob eventually gave up on following it all.

Texas didn't look at all like Sandy had described it. The city Sandy grew up in was a concrete jungle. It was all endless highways, huge skyscrapers, obnoxious ads on billboards, tacky strip centers, and a million littered intersections. There were no wide open ranges and tin-roofed ranch homes, no cows grazing the fresh, green grass. No cactuses growing next to wooden fences. There were no deserts, no beaches and the only wildflowers SpongeBob spotted looked like they had been planted there on purpose.

The ride seemed to go on forever. The squirrels were currently discussing which wildflower was the prettiest. Before Randy could explain why he didn't like bluebonnets, SpongeBob cut in. "How far away is your house from the airport?"

Randy looked at SpongeBob through the rearview mirror and smiled. "About 2 hours and thirty minutes."

SpongeBob froze. "Really?"

Sandy turned around in her seat. "Houston's a mighty big city and my parents live further out west. It ain't as smoggy there. But once we're there, the only driving we'll be doin' is this route to get to shops and stuff." She explained and SpongeBob didn't reply. He didn't know this trip would involve so much driving. _If only he had his license…_

After driving through many neighborhoods, many empty, trashy areas in the suburbs, and after getting off the large highway they were on, it eventually looked more like the rural Texas SpongeBob imagined. There were patches of wildflowers growing in ditches on the sides of the road, there were worn down fences and mailboxes with Texas flags painted on them. The human houses were huge, but, everything that the humans built seemed huge for the 4 inch tall sea sponge.

Randy finally pulled up on a small dirt driveway in front of a large oak tree.

"That's my parents' house." Sandy said, pointing to the tree. It would have looked like any ordinary tree- if it weren't for the wraparound porch, the Texas star decorations and the outdoor furniture. Randy was the first to jump out of his truck and Sandy followed him. Then she took off and ran in the direction of another squirrel, who was standing next to a vehicle.

SpongeBob guessed by the slight gray fur and the wrinkles on the squirrel's face that it was Sandy's father. The two hugged each other and Sandy gave the other squirrel a kiss on his cheek. Yep. It was her father. SpongeBob slowly walked towards the squirrels and Sandy's dad raised an eyebrow.

SpongeBob smiled at him, but Sandy's father just looked him straight in the eye and took his hand, squeezing them hard. "I'm Sandy's pa." He said in a deep drawl that made SpongeBob want to run away and hide. The sponge tried to keep eye contact with him, but the squirrel was practically crushing his hands.

"Well…" Sandy's dad said rather impatiently, "What's your name?"

"SpongeBob SquarePants." He squeaked and relaxed when Mr. Cheeks let go of his hand.

"Y'all might as well go inside through the front door." The older squirrel said to his daughter. "I think yer ma would've come out if she had already seen you. " He flicked his tail towards the front side of the house and patted Randy on the back before giving SpongeBob an unreadable glare. The trio then walked up to the front door. Sandy hesitated to knock, so Randy smiled at her encouragingly. _'Sandy must have been gone for a while.'_ SpongeBob remarked.

A squirrel was wearing a dress and a floral patterned apron opened the door. Her sun bleached fur was turning a silvery gray, but that was the only sign of her age. She had the same dark brown eyes as Sandy, which lit up at the sight of her visitors.

"Sandy!" She exclaimed and pulled her into a tight hug. "I missed you so much, darlin'!"

"I missed you too, ma." Sandy said as well as she could, her face being squeezed against her mother's fur.

The squirrel loosened her grip on Sandy and wiped a tear out of her eye. "Oh Sandy…" She whispered as she held on to her daughter's arms, studying Sandy. "My precious baby girl has become a beautiful grown woman!" She exclaimed, pulling Sandy into another tight embrace, slightly rocking her. When the older squirrel opened her eyes, she noticed SpongeBob and let go of her daughter for the second time. Sandy's stomach flipped when she saw the look on her mother's face as the said squirrel walked over to SpongeBob.

"Why you must be SpongeBob SquarePants! Sandy has told us _so much _about you!" She took both of SpongeBob's hands and squeezed them excitingly. "I'm Sandy's ma, Mrs. Cheeks. My daughter talks about you all the time!"

"Really? Er, I mean, Sandy said lots of great stuff about you guys too!" SpongeBob lied; Sandy never talked about her family at home. But that was probably because it made her homesick… he had never really asked Sandy about it either.

'_I guess I just thought her childhood would have been a lot similar to mine.' _SpongeBob thought as he and Sandy were brought in to the entry way. There was a wide spiral staircase, tall ceilings and the whole room was made out of oak wood, except the rug and a mirror. It was so much different than his parents' little yellow house. He had just now realized that Sandy growing up breathing air wasn't the only difference in their upbringing. The Texan squirrel had grown up in a _completely_ different environment.

"Now, Randy, be a dear and take these suitcases to their rooms. I'll show Sandy and her guest around." Sandy's mother walked through an arch way into the living room, beckoning them to follow her. It was a nicely decorated room with a large stone fireplace. SpongeBob was amazed at how much space there was in a single oak tree, but one thing made him frown. "Isn't it _dangerous_ to light a fire inside a tree?"

Sandy's mother laughed and explained it was different when the chimney was made out of rocks. "How do you know about fire?" She then asked the sea creature.

"Why wouldn't I?"

Sandy's mother didn't say anything, but wondered how someone who had lived their whole life _underwater_ would understand the logics and dangers of fire.

Sandy followed her mother down the hall. To her dismay, her mother was more interested in showing SpongeBob every single picture that hung on the wall than showing him the rooms in their house. "And here are pictures of the twins and see? There's Sandy as a baby! Ain't she the cutest thang you've ever seen?" She didn't wait for a response. "Why, she was knee high as a grasshopper! Literally! Oh! Look! Here she is when she first started riding bullfrogs- who would've thought that she'd be in the rodeo one day? And here's her very first science fair project, just look at those awful braces she used to wear. I never thought her teeth were so crooked that she needed those retainers, but the orthodontist insisted."

Sandy normally would be thrilled to see her mother again. But she should have remembered the way her mother acted with the boys that she had brought over in her teenage years. After so many years, SpongeBob was no exception. Of course, back then she had brought male visitors because of school projects and _not _for a vacation. No wonder even Randy was acting strange around her and her friend. _'They must all think I like SpongeBob!'_

Sandy wanted to tell her mother that there was nothing more than friendship going on between her and SpongeBob, but she didn't want to give SpongeBob any ideas.

"Now I gotta get yer pa over here." Mrs. Cheeks said "He was so excited to see y'all and to meet _you_, Mr. SquarePants."

SpongeBob giggled at being called that and Sandy's mother led them into a small country-styled kitchen and out the backdoor. "Sweetheart! Sandy and SpongeBob are here!"

"I know. I already saw 'em." Sandy's father wiped the sweat off his brow and slammed the car trunk shut, before looking over to where his wife was standing.

"Well," Sandy's mother put her hands on her hips. "don't you want to actually _talk _to your daughter and her friend? You wanted to show Sandy something… Remember?" She urged. Mr. Cheeks' lips formed into a grin, his gaze landing on SpongeBob.

"Yer mother's right." He told Sandy after jogging up the porch. "I've got a little surprise, follow me." He looked at SpongeBob again and then smiled to himself. Mrs. Cheek shot a look at her husband. Maybe she should have reminded him of his 'surprise' when Sandy's friend _wasn't_ around.

Mr. Cheeks lead them to the coat closet in the entryway. "Now, close your eyes… and…" they heard him open the door and rummage through the closet contents. "...open them!"

Both Sandy and SpongeBob's eyes widened at the sight of the shotgun in Mr. Cheeks hands. Sandy stared at in awe, while SpongeBob felt like he was going to faint.

"Is that- is that _r- real_?!" The sea creature stammered.

Sandy's father smirked. "Yes, ain't she a beauty?"

"Is it _loaded_?"

"Of course she is." His smirk grew wider. The squirrels knew by his expression that he wasn't telling the truth, but SpongeBob took a step back just in case.

"No, it isn't." Sandy laughed and took the weapon from her dad before admiring it. "This must've cost a fortune!"

"Why do you have a _gun_?"

"You know, in case anyone might want to take my daughter away from me." Mr. Cheeks said putting an arm around Sandy, who pushed her dad away, embarrassed.

"Almost everyone 'round here has one, SpongeBob." Sandy explained, handing it back to her dad. Her mother rolled her eyes at Sandy's explanation.

"Now Sandy, you might want to show your guest his room, don't ya think?" Mrs. Cheeks suggested as Sandy's dad put the gun back in its case, "Randy already put your bags in y'all's _respective_ rooms."

The younger squirrel shot a look at her mother and then took SpongeBob's hand, dragging him out of the shocked state he was in.

"Does your dad really _shoot _people?" He whispered once they were out of earshot.

"No. He shoots little clay disks for fun. We're _squirrels_, we don't _hunt_." She pointed out, giving her friend a concerned glance. She hoped he didn't think such things of her dad.

SpongeBob followed Sandy further down the hall. "This is your room." She opened a small door and showed SpongeBob the small guest bedroom. There was a twin-sized bed in one corner and a small wooden desk with a lamp on it in the other. Sandy pointed to a door saying that was where his closet was and then slipped out of the room.

"Uh… Sandy?" The squirrel mentally face palmed. _She hadn't even shown him the bathrooms yet!_ SpongeBob walked back into the hallway and smiled. "Where are you gonna sleep?"

"In my room."

"And where's that?"

Sandy walked down the hallway, beckoning SpongeBob to follow her. "This here was where I spent way too much time in as a teenager." She said, opening the door. Sandy gasped when she realized her parents hadn't changed it a bit.

There was a messy desk with opened books, papers and unfinished gadgets piling up on it. There were science fair and talent show trophies, rodeo ribbons, karate belts, and a few athletic awards all displayed on a tall wooden shelf, which was otherwise filled with books. A pair of old and dusty cowboy boots stood at the footboard of her bed, on the wall behind it, someone had hung up a huge poster of a squirrel draped in western gear. Next to that was a framed photograph of the same cowboy, but this time he stood next a younger squirrel. The squirrel was wearing the same boots as the ones beside Sandy's bed. SpongeBob squinted to get a better look at the picture.

_'That almost looks like-' _Sandy slammed the door shut. "Yeah... I haven't been in there for ages. Some of that stuff is real old. I reckon I wouldn't even remember half of it." She forced a laugh and SpongeBob thought of the picture of Sandy and the other squirrel, but didn't dare ask her about it.

The rest of the evening SpongeBob spent with unpacking his bags, eating the delicious meal Sandy's mother had prepared, getting to know Randy and Sandy's mom (Mr. Cheeks wasn't as open and friendly), listening to the stories Sandy and her family told each other, and avoiding the coat closet.

Once he was alone in the guest room, SpongeBob sat on the small desk and wrote a letter to each Mr. Krabs, Squidward and Patrick. He told everyone he missed them; he asked Squidward how Gary was and told Patrick that he wanted the starfish to enjoy himself while he was gone. He hesitated before putting the last letter in its envelope. He had put an extra amount of time on it. But he couldn't imagine what would go through Patrick's mind as he read each sentence. Easy words written in big, printed letters, his best friend could surely read that. _But the content of the letter?_ SpongeBob sighed. _Hopefully Patrick didn't miss him too much._


	7. First Day in Texas

**Okay… so It took me less than a month to update this time! Yay!**

**So, first, thank y'all so much for reading my story and for all the positive feedback!**

**Second, I'd like to thank CheeseNachosAreBae for giving me the idea of a cute little spandy moment that'll happen in the first part of this chapter. **

**Chapter 7****:**

**First Day in Texas**

* * *

><p>SpongeBob woke up, startled by his strange surroundings. He wasn't in his sweet pineapple home with Gary sleeping on the ground beside his bed. Instead, he was in a small room with wooden walls, he would've thought that that made the room look somewhat claustrophobic, but he didn't know what the word claustrophobic meant. The bright sunlight that peaked through the window shutters told him it was around noon. But his brain told him it was much earlier in the morning and his eyes wanted to drift back into his wonderful dream. Where he could frolick through a world filled with lollypops, cotton candy, ice cream and, -of course- delicious Krabby patties.<p>

Despite his sleepiness, he stretched and grabbed his watch of off the nightstand. 2 AM Tuesday Morning.

_2 AM?!_

He shot a look at the light shining through the window shutters and stood up to open them. As the bright sunlight flooded into the room SpongeBob remembered where he was _and_ what Sandy had said about the time changing. Which meant it was actually 12 PM Monday. _'Oh no.'_

_Hopefully he didn't miss out on anything important! _

He looked out of the window. There was a cactus growing next to a fencepost and colorful patches of wildflowers growing in a field.

He was glad the Cheeks didn't live too close to that _huge_ city.

That's when he spotted Sandy and her dad talking. He couldn't hear what they were saying, but Sandy saw him and waved for him to come outside. He waved back and then closed the shutters before changing into his regular outfit and walking downstairs into the livingroom.

Mrs. Cheeks sat on the couch flipping through a magazine with the title "Southern Squirrel". It had a picture of a beautifully decorated tree on the cover. Sandy's mother set the magazine down when she saw SpongeBob.

"Good mornin'! Did you sleep alright?" Sandy's mother asked. SpongeBob nodded happily in response. "Are you looking for Sandy?"

"Well... _actually_ I'm looking for the back door."

Sandy's mother grinned. She knew he wanted to go outside because Sandy was there. "Oh, there's a door that leads to the driveway in the kitchen." She nonchalantly pointed towards the hallway and suppressed a knowing smile.

SpongeBob was met at the door with a gust of hot air. Although the weather was almost unbearable, he ran over to the backyard.

Sandy greeted him in similar way as her mother did, asking him how he slept and such. Mr. Cheeks stood next to her, leaning against a wooden fence.

"I slept well, other that I woke up pretty confused with the time change." The sponge confessed.

Sandy giggled and spun over to her dad. "In Bikini Bottom it's already tomorrow."

"I thought you were living near Hawaii." Mr. Cheeks remarked, eying his daughter, who had been talking nonstop about the ocean since they had first started their conversation earlier this morning.

"No, Hawaii's over a _day_ of driving away. But we're pretty dang close to it compared to there to here. If we could fly there, it'd seem much closer, but the water has too much friction." She explained.

The male squirrel's eyes darkened. "I thought you said y'all rode the bus together to Hawaii."

"We did."

"That's a pretty long ride." He remarked.

"It was. But it was worth seein' y'all again." She quickly embraced her dad, and then turned to SpongeBob. "Pa was telling me that we're having a party tonight!"

SpongeBob's eyes lit up. "Am I invited?"

"Well of course! Right, Pa?"

The older squirrel shrugged. "He's here, ain't he?"

"That's a yes." Sandy said. "But SpongeBob, it's gonna be a Cheeks family reunion. So... don't do any of your shenanigans..."

"What shenanigans?" Both SpongeBob and her dad asked at the same time, SpongeBob was obviously embarrassed, and the latter looked slightly disconcerted.

Sandy ignored their looks, picked a flower and twirled it in her hand. "Y'know, the bunny dress up and the lock-yourself-out-of-the-house stuff. We don't host like that in Texas."

"Oh, that." SpongeBob began to sweat. "That won't happen..."

Sandy's pa slapped the sponge's back, purposely hurting him. "That's good. I'm gonna go inside. I reckon you two will come in soon after." He said in his deep southern drawl, eyeing the guests once more before walking back to the tree.

Sandy frowned as her dad left and SpongeBob rubbed his back.

"We should go inside."

"Wait…" SpongeBob bent over to a patch of blue flowers. They were funny shaped, different from the purple sea anemone or the pink daisies he sometimes brought over to her house. SpongeBob picked the biggest one and smiled, it would go well with the light pink flower Sandy held in her hand. He stood back up and gave it to her.

"Is that for_ me_?"

"Yeah…" He said as a blush colored his already freckled cheeks.

"Aw shucks. Bluebonnets are my favorite." She admired the flower.

"They are?"

"Yes!" she hugged him without letting go of the two flowers in her hands. "Thank you, Spongy."

SpongeBob blushed even more. Sandy noticed that when she let go. Seeing him blush like that at her embrace gave her a strange tingly feeling in her stomach, so she quickly looked away.

"C'mon, we have'ta go back inside. These flowers need a vase." She avoided his gaze by marveling the wildflowers again. "_And _we better hurry; Randy likes to eat everything before everyone else gets to the table and we don't want to miss out on any of ma's pecan pancakes."

* * *

><p>The party was interesting.<p>

Sandy had a huge family, granted, they were squirrels, SpongeBob asked her what that had to do with her family being so big, but she wouldn't tell him.

Country music blasted through the entire tree. Most of the party guests really enjoyed it. While some of the squirrels were dancing along, others discussed football games, older ones were reminiscing the "good ole days", and SpongeBob was looking for Sandy.

The squirrel had instructed him to stay close by her side, but through all the fluffy brown squirrel tails, cowboy hats and boots and the occasional flip flops, SpongeBob had lost track of his friend. She had a bunch of friends and cousins to catch up with and there where many rodents who wanted to talk to "the talking cheese", who constantly had to tell them he was a sponge.

But unlike he expected, most of the questions asked weren't about Bikini Bottom, Krabby Patties, and life underwater-_ but about his friendship with Sandy!_

"How long have you two known each other?"

"What do you two do together?"

"Is it true that you were Sandy's first friend underwater?"

"How'd y'all meet?"

"What do you like the most about my niece?"

"How is it bein' friends with a land critter underwater?"

"Are y'all very close?"

"Is this your first trip together?"

Some of the questions made SpongeBob uncomfortable. Sandy's aunt for example wanted to know every single detail about Sandy and his, as she called it, 'ambiguous' relationship. A younger squirrel asked him if he was Sandy's boyfriend. Most, however, only wanted to know how long the two know each other and how they got to know each other.

But there was one question that really bothered SpongeBob. He was asked if he and Sandy would be 'closer' if there had never been that water-air boundary between the two.

He never really thought of that being a problem, but after pondering about it, he realized it was a huge obstacle that could be hindering them from being _more_ than friends. He liked the thought of them being a couple, but he wasn't sure how Sandy would react if she found out. So he just shrugged and said he didn't think so.

When he found Sandy, she was standing next to a few squirrels her age. Sandy and her friends talked about stuff that SpongeBob had no clue about and relief flooded over him when he saw Randy come over. But the squirrel didn't want to talk to SpongeBob; he came to take Sandy_ away_ from her friends.

Randy took Sandy aside and she recognized by his look that something was wrong. "You have visitors."

"_More_ visitors?"

Randy flicked his tail in the direction of the entryway and Sandy jumped at the sight.

Three chimpanzees stood on her parent's front porch. Not just any chimpanzees, these were her _bosses_. Sandy raced over to them.

"Hello Ms. Cheeks." The largest one said, shaking her hand.

"Good evenin' Dr. Marmalade… Lord Reginald… Professor Percy." Sandy smiled at them, confused. _'What are they doin' at my party?'_

Lord Reginald closed his umbrella and walked inside. It was raining outside. "How does it feel to be back in your hometown, Ms. Cheeks?"

"I've only been here a day." She confessed, watching the other two chimpanzees enter the house, scanning their surroundings.

"Well, we heard you were here right now, so we decided to stop by..." The professor trailed off, his hears twitched at the music.

"What an _interesting_ ambiance for a party." One of the other chimps remarked, looking from the crowded living room, with squirrels clumsily dancing to the twangy music and then to Sandy's cowgirl boots.

She shuffled her feet, feeling his gaze. "It's a family reunion, actually." She tried to suppress her southern accent.

Professor Percy nodded. "You don't need to take anything back to the ocean, do you?"

"_What?!_"

"Never mind, I guess we can't talk in private," the chimpanzee took a glance at the living room. "and we definitely didn't want to ruin your party."

"We can talk in the kitchen!" Sandy said, racing to the door. "My mother wouldn't mind taking her friends and their conversation somewhere else."

"Oh no, Sandra. We're fine."

Sandy raised an eyebrow at the mention of her first name.

"Are you going to be here for a while?"

"One and a half weeks." The squirrel answered.

"Alright. We'll call when we need you."

"Excuse me?" '_Ain't this my vacation?'_

"We'll talk about this later." Lord Reginald said and gestured the other chimps to follow him to the door. "Farewell Ms. Cheeks."

"Bye." Sandy said as she opened the door for them and watched them drive off in a fancy car. Their visit had just ruined her party.

"Good riddance." Randy whispered, now standing next to his sister.

"That's what I was thinkin' too..." Sandy laughed as she shut the door, walking back towards the living room with her brother and SpongeBob.

"What did those guys want?" The latter asked.

"They just wanted to talk." She tried avoiding the subject.

Randy gave a small chuckle. "Well then, why didn't they stay?"

"They wanted to talk about _business."_

"You don't think-"

"No! I've got it all covered." The female grabbed SpongeBob and pulled him in front of her brother. "SpongeBob breathing air is livin' proof that I'm a great scientist. Besides knowing them, my job ain't in danger. They're _monkeys_. Give 'em a banana and they'll do what you say."

Randy raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything else. Sandy gave her brother a second glance and then quickly went back into the living room where her guests were.

She couldn't let anyone know that her bosses were the actual reason she was visiting. It would not only disappoint her family, it'd also show them that something_ could_ be wrong with her job performance. She didn't know what it was, but her bosses wouldn't have sent her to Texas without a reason.


	8. Questions

**This took forever…**

**And thank you guys so much for the all feedback! I really, really appreciate it. **

**Chapter 8:**

**Questions**

The sun had set, the family reunion was over and Sandy sat on the porch swing, waving goodbye to the last of her guests. SpongeBob stood on the stairs, waving as well.

Mr. Cheeks once again gave SpongeBob an unreadable look, glanced at Sandy and then walked to the door. "We better get inside." He said, taking his wife's hands. "We'll leave the door unlocked for y'all."

SpongeBob heard the screen door shut and turned around to look at Sandy, who beckoned him to sit next to her on the swing.

"You have a really nice family, Sandy." He said and sat down beside her. He pushed his feet off the ground which gently rocked the swing.

"Thanks. I bet yours is mighty nice, too."

"Well... my cousin Black Jack's been to jail and you already know Stanley. But I do have a really cool Uncle who can stuff a whole watermelon in his nose!" SpongeBob sighed, maybe he didn't think of his family as often as he should. "Oh! And my grandma makes the _best_ cookies in the world- next to you _of course_." He quickly added.

"You're comparing _my _cookies to _your grandma's?"_

"Is that a problem?"

"No. I'm just shocked, because, _normally_, relatives do make _the best _cookies." Sandy said, looking at SpongeBob who was illuminated by the porch lights. When his gaze met hers she quickly paid attention to the fur on her paws.

"Well, I think _your_ cookies are definitely one of the best." He said, but then frowned when he realized Sandy was avoiding his gaze. He kicked his feet off the ground again, swinging the porch swing. Then he noticed something strange happing outside on the lawn.

"Sandy... what's going on over there?"

Sandy looked at the front yard, but didn't see anything in particular. "Nothin'."

"No! Really, Sandy! Something horrible is happing in your parents' front yard!" SpongeBob, starting to panic, wrapped his arms around the squirrel.

"Where?"

"The sky is falling!" SpongeBob exclaimed and tightened his grip on Sandy. That was when she noticed it was raining.

"You mean it's _raining_."

"Maybe." He said, pretty clueless.

_'Right. They don't have that underwater.' _"Rain is the stuff falling from the sky."

"That's it!"

"Yeah, that's rain."

SpongeBob tilted his head, watching the falling drops of water reflect a spark of light from the porch light. "How does that work?" He asked.

"You mean rain?"

SpongeBob nodded.

"Well… it falls from the clouds when they get to full." She tried to explain the hydrologic cycle in simple words so her friend would understand. He nodded constantly, but confusion still danced in his eyes. _"_The sun warms the water, which makes the water evaporate and that water turns in to clouds once it's high enough in the atmosphere, then, when the clouds are too full, they let the water fall down. But now," she said, looking over the porch fence "the rain stopped…"

"Hmm..." SpongeBob let go of his friend and walked over to the porch steps to look up at the sky. "Is that why the sky is getting clearer? Are the clouds empty now?"

"You could put it that way." Sandy said, and watched SpongeBob gaze at the night sky and then turn around.

"And the stars? Will we be able to see them too?"

"Once the clouds are gone we could."

"I like stars."

Sandy smiled. "Me too."

"How do they work?" SpongeBob asked, sitting back on the porch swing beside his friend.

"They are all huge balls of gas. There are different kinds of stars too; they're put in to different classes, where they're rated by _luminosity_."

"And what are the different kinds of stars?"

"Well, there are giants and sub-giants, white dwarfs and…"

SpongeBob listened to Sandy. He liked watching her talk about things she loved and she obviously loved science. He liked the way her eyes lit up and the corners of her mouth lifted as she tried to explain how her favorite kind star works and he liked the way she avoided really hard words so he could understand. He didn't understand, but he enjoyed watching her talk about it nevertheless.

At the end of her explanation, SpongeBob was far more engrossed by Sandy herself than whatever she had been telling him.

"You know everything don't you?"

"Just about everything you can touch, hear, and see." Sandy said rather proudly.

She knew she was smart.

SpongeBob did too.

He pulled his legs up on the swing and rested his head on her shoulder.

Sandy's heart started beating louder and quicker. The fur on her skin pricked. The spot where his head touched her shoulder seemed to give Sandy's brain some kind of signal her brain couldn't or didn't want to interpret.

"Sandy?" The little yellow sponge asked, after a while of silence.

"Yes, SpongeBob?" Her heart skipped a beat when she heard a catch in her own voice.

"How does_ love_ work?"

Sandy was taken back by his question and sat up straight, leading SpongeBob to take head from her shoulder.

"SpongeBob." She said once again, trying to pull herself together. "You can't touch, hear or see love. It only _really_ exists in your head."

SpongeBob gasped defensively. "_Sandy!_ Take that back!" His eyes widened, more worried than angry at his friend. "You have no idea what you're saying!"

"I have no idea what I'm sayin'? SpongeBob. _I am __a __scientist_."

"You said you can explain everything that you can see, hear, or touch. But you don't even believe in _love_! And you can see, touch, and hear love! Let me explain."

Sandy was about to interrupt, but SpongeBob silenced her by putting his finger on her mouth.

"Love is everywhere, Sandy:" He made a huge circle movement with his hands. "when you see little kids playing together, when you put an extra amount of care while making a Krabby patty. Don't you see how parents watch out for their children? Have you ever seen the way someone's face lights up when they talk about something they love? Like Mr. Krabs with money, or Squidward with his clarinet playing or his self-portraits..."

"And you with Krabby patties?"

SpongeBob smiled. "See? You're getting the hang of it!"

Sandy wrapped a blanket around herself, nodding for SpongeBob to go on.

"That's how you can see love. Then, have you ever touched the surface of a painting?"

Sandy shook her head.

"Well, when you stroke a masterpiece, you begin to wonder how much time, thought and _love_ was put into each paint brushstroke."

"Now, why would I pet a painting?"

"Oh, I do it with Squidward's portraits all the time! You should see how much he paints. But that's not the topic. Have you ever accidentally brushed your arm with someone else's arm, or hugged someone a bit longer than usual and it felt like a jellyfish swarm was swimming in your stomach?"

The only thing Sandy could think of was various moments with SpongeBob himself.

She frowned. "Are you saying _that's_ love?"

"Yes! Have you felt that way before?"

Sandy clenched her teeth. _Yes. She had felt that way before._ But, no, the little childish crush she first had on him when they met, definitely did not develop into something more.

"Of course I've felt that way, but-"

"That's wonderful!" SpongeBob hugged her. "You _have_ to believe in love if you've felt it before!"

Sandy rolled her eyes, but only to keep her mind focused on their discussion and not on her friend. She pushed him away from her. "It's dopamine and adrenalin that make you feel that way."

"What's that?"

"They are chemicals that are released in your brain to make you feel certain ways."

"So _they_ tell you that you're in love!"

"No, dopamine is what makes you feel all giddy inside and adrenalin is what makes yer palms sweat and your heart quicken its pace. You can get adrenalin from extreme sports as well and-"

Worried, SpongeBob laid his hand on Sandy's leg.

The squirrel stiffened.

But it was his question after that movement that made her emotions go crazy.

"Is _that _why you do all those stunts, Sandy?"

She couldn't believe SpongeBob could ask a question so blunt and careless! She shoved his hand off of her.

Sure, she was often preoccupied with stunts and science. Sometimes she had terrible cases of homesickness, but mostly, her life was the experimentation of her constant question 'Is this physically possible and how?'.

But that wasn't the reason she never fell in love.

"Just because I've never been in love doesn't mean I do other things to fill the gap in my heart. Some people are just happy bein' independent and single." Sandy said, looking back at her lap. She looked back up at her parents' front lawn and rubbed her neck.

_"You've __never been in love?"_

Sandy's gaze swept back to the sponge. She saw tears swell up in the rims of his blue eyes.

So caught up in her own emotions-she forgot how overemotional her best friend was.

"I-"

For the first time in her life Sandy Cheeks stopped her own sentence, because she didn't really think she was right.

"I'm sorry. I just..."

_Why was she apologizing for something she couldn't change?_

_And why was SpongeBob getting all teary eyed?_

"It's alright Sandy. I just didn't know that some people didn't fall in love. I always thought it was like liking Krabby patties, everyone does it. It's... strange when you realize the people closest to you don't." He stood up, "I respect your opinion and I'm sorry I bothered you..."

"You didn't, wait-" Sandy grabbed his arm, but immediately let go when she realized that just by touching him she got all those feelings he had described. She stared at his wrist in shock.

SpongeBob gave her a confused look and looked away when he felt the water in his eyes threatening to pour out again. He didn't want her to see that. "I'm getting kind of tired, anyway. Good night, Sandy."

As she watched him go she whispered "Good night, Spongy."

She heard the screen door slam shut, which meant he left her alone on the porch. She curled up tighter in her blanket, the porch swing rocking from her movement.

He had looked _so_ sad.

She should have run after him. Apologized. Maybe even told him the truth.

The truth that she didn't know if she had ever been in love; the truth that despite his adorable description of those happy feelings, she couldn't quite grasp the truth of what love _really_ was.

And suddenly:

She regretted giving him _that_ answer to his question.

She regretted telling him love was _just_ something in your brain.

She regretted saying it was _only_ a chemical reaction.

And as a cool breeze rushed through her fur, Sandy knew why she regretted it all: _because she felt love too._


	9. Hot Chocolate at 2 o'Clock

**I can't believe I originally planned on having this fanfic finished by now! W****hen I first started this I thought it'd be cool to post it on Sandy's (supposed) birthday and finish it on SpongeBob's. Well. His birthday was 10 days ago and I'm not even close to finishing this!**

**Anyways, thank you all for the continuous (and new) reviews and feedback. It really means a lot to me!**

**Chapter 9:**

**Hot Chocolate at 2 o'Clock**

_'SpongeBob SquarePants... Out of all critters... SpongeBob SquarePants...'_

It was 2 am.

Sandy couldn't sleep. The thoughts in her head bothered her. No, they _frightened_ her. And Sandy was not the kind of person to be scared.

_'When I first met him I would have never thought I'd fall in love with the little fella -and especially not here!' _The squirrel angrily threw her pillow towards the wall.

SpongeBob and she could _never_ be in a relationship. Maybe that was why she felt this way. Wasn't that what she did? Prove that the impossible was possible?

If so, this would be her craziest 'experiment'. The riskiest too, she realized. SpongeBob was her first and best friend underwater. Their friendship meant so much to her that her heart ached just at the thought of losing it.

If SpongeBob didn't feel the same way, she'd be making everything between them uncomfortable and awkward by telling him.

"I'm sorry." She said to no one in particular. "But I'm not taking this risk." The squirrel decided and got out of bed. A cold blast of wind from the air conditioner made her want to crawl back under her warm covers, but she just grabbed a bathrobe to wear over her night gown.

Sometimes, fur wasn't enough to keep one warm.

Especially not when one's mind was whirling like hers was right now.

_'SpongeBob... The first person ya ever get these kinds of feelings for is SpongeBob.'_

It was ridiculous. And a little embarrassing.

She should have seen it coming.

The way heat would flood into her face when he'd compliment her, the way her stomach would flutter at something he did, the fact that she had brought him all the way from the depths of the Pacific Ocean to her hometown said enough about the way she felt about him.

"But I ain't fallin' in love with him. I _can't_."She whispered, letting herself collapse back onto her bed. This roller coaster ride of feelings needed to halt.

'_SpongeBob and I are friends. Nothin' more. I can't possibly let any more of these weird thoughts in my head or I reckon I__'ll__ go crazy…' _

She sat back up and then walked over to her bookshelf. Surely there was something that'd keep her mind off of the sea sponge.

She browsed through the books on her shelf.

_Survival Guide #1: how to avoid mouse traps_

_Country Classics_

_Ancient Squirrel Tribes and Traditions_

_Why Animals Have Adopted Human Traits_

_Time Traveling for Dummies_

_Lonesome Life as A Cowsquirrel_

_Ocean __Inhabitants_

Sandy stared at the titles of the last two books, blinked, then walked out of her bedroom.

A lonesome squirrel living among ocean inhabitants. That's who she was.

She wasn't exactly lonesome. But although she enjoyed solitude, she did have a bit too much of it.

Here, she didn't feel that dreadful loneliness.

Sometimes, staring out of the glass in her treedome, she felt like the lone star on the Texas flag. Alone and a little out of place, but without the star, it wouldn't be the beautiful flag she loved.

She smiled at that realization, and her smile grew bigger at the thought of being home in Texas again.

She traced the cracks in the wooden walls that she had grown up with and breathed in the familiar, homey scent. Hopefully no one would see her wander like a ghost through the house she grew up in.

She walked through the hallway, which was full of old pictures and went into the living room. Her gaze wandered to the fireplace. It was lit every year near Christmas time. It never snowed in these parts of Texas, so the warmth of the fire was the only temperature that truly reminded her of winter.

The aroma of hot chocolate had immortalized itself in her brain and was forever linked to the thoughts of holidays. "Hot chocolate sure sounds good right now..." She mused, turned away from the fireplace and made her way to the kitchen.

As she neared the kitchen, she heard a muffled sound coming from it.

It sounded like… crying?

Sandy looked at the ground and saw bright light shining from the crack between the door and the floor. _'Someone must be in there.'_ She heard someone sniff and leaned against the door. Yes. Someone was definitely in there.

Hesitantly, she reached for the doorknob and slowly opened the heavy wooden door.

It made a loud creaky sound, and the person sitting at the kitchen table sat up in shock.

Sandy's heart skipped a beat.

It was SpongeBob.

He relaxed once he saw it was her, but the expression on his face made it pretty clear that he wasn't really comfortable. That's when she saw his red puffy eyes that confirmed her guess. The person in the kitchen was crying.

_But how long had he been sitting there?_

"Why aren't you in bed?" Sandy asked, and then wondered if she sounded like a mother scolding her child. If so, she didn't want to sound that way.

"I'm just... I'm just drinking this glass of... water" SpongeBob gasped for air and tears began to swell up in his eyes.

Sandy walked over to him. "You okay?"

"I'm fine." He sniffed.

"What are you doing up this late... or early?" She said, glancing at the clock.

"I'm just..." He sniffed again "thinking."

Sandy looked around the kitchen to find out what was bothering her friend. Instead, she just remembered why she came here in the first place. "Do you want some hot chocolate?"

"That sounds nice..."

Sandy's heart ached at seeing her friend like this; she walked over to the pantry and grabbed a package of chocolate powder. Pouring milk into a pan on the stove, the squirrel decided to start a conversation with SpongeBob. _But how could she when she had just realized that she was in love with him?_ And with his being so sad- she didn't know what was wrong and definitely didn't want to accidentally pour salt on an open wound. SpongeBob could get emotional over the silliest things. So she stayed silent and began mixing the chocolate in with the milk.

Sandy felt him watching her and felt her fur stand up. She tried not to look in his direction.

"I now know what homesickness feels like." SpongeBob spoke up.

The squirrel turned around to get a better look at him. "You do?"

He nodded. "The Krusty Krab is closing up right now. Mr. Krabs is counting his money; Squidward is mopping the floors since I'm not there. Gary is probably watching classical jazz on Squidward's TV. And Patrick ... I don't know what Patrick is doing right now... normally we go jellyfishing after I come home from work. But I'm not at work. I hope Patrick's doing alright..." He cupped his head in his hands. Sandy left her position by the stove and wrapped an arm around him. Silently telling herself it was a friendly gesture and not something more.

"Patrick's doing fine. I bet he's sleeping in, watching TV and doin' nothin'."

SpongeBob chuckled. "I hope so..."

Sandy rubbed his back before standing back up to give the sponge his hot chocolate. "Don't worry. You'll be back in the water as sooner than a barefoot jackrabbit-"

"I get it Sandy. I'm just worried about Patrick. I really miss him."

She sat down across from him and sipped her own hot chocolate.

"You did tell him you were coming here, right?"

"Well... I..."

Sandy grabbed SpongeBob's hands. "Don't fret about it. We both know Patrick's a little slow and I bet by the time you're back; he probably just then noticed you were gone."

"Well, one time, remember when you got all mad at us for making fun of Texas and then started chasing us and threating to-"

"SpongeBob. What does that have to do with this?"

"You just said Patrick was slow, but when you were chasing us, and we were running for our lives, he wasn't that slow. I guess you did catch him with your lasso, but still-"

"I meant in the head." She interrupted him. "Like, he ain't very smart."

"Oh! I thought you meant he was so slow at walking that we'd beat him back to Bikini Bottom before he got here. We could've met him in Hawaii! Then we could have all gone to one of those really cool hula dancing parties. We could wear those grass skirts and those cool leis… which would be perfect, because we both already have one of the flower necklaces!"

Sandy shook her head, trying not to think of SpongeBob dancing with hula dancers. "Now, speakin' of going back, we gotta get those lungs –er, gills of yours working properly."

SpongeBob smiled and leaned over the table. "I wouldn't mind breathing air y'know…"

Sandy leaned against her chair to keep distance. "I guess you don't ever want to smell the… um... grease in the Krusty Krab, or taste a soggy Krabby Patty again or feel a salty current in the cool ocean-"

"Never mind!"

Sandy smiled and then grabbed a piece of paper.

"So, tomorrow we'll stop by the lab and get some equipment. Then I can show you a bit of Houston, how do you like that?"

"That's great! Wait." his eyes widened, "Is Houston that big city we drove through?"

Sandy didn't answer; instead she stood up and put her and SpongeBob's empty mugs in the dishwasher. "I'll see you tomorrow at…" She looked at the clock to count how many hours of sleep they'd get. "9 o'clock in the entry way. Okay?"

SpongeBob nodded and Sandy walked back to her bedroom and collapsed onto her bed.

That wasn't _that _bad.

She barely even thought of her developing feelings for him. And if she could always keep those thoughts away when she was around him their friendship could last at least another… 16 years? As long as she could do that their relationship could be fine.

_Their relationship could be fine… _


	10. Different Species with Buckteeth

**Hey! Thank you all so much for the feedback. You don't know how happy it makes me. 31 favorites and 46 reviews... thank you all so so much!**

**I'm going on a vacation for the next week and a couple of days, which means I probably won't have any internet. So I can't reply to anything until I get back.**

**Also… I'm really sorry, because this chapter is so long, but guess what?**

**I seriously had another 1000 words in this chapter, but was way too long and since Chapter 11 is one of the chapters I've been afraid would be too short, an extra thousand words will do it good. XD So I cropped them out and now we have a very _interesting_ end of this chapter- anyway.**

**I hope y'all enjoy it!**

**Chapter 10:**

**Different Species with Buckteeth**

Sandy woke up to the familiar sound of her old alarm clock.

It was still strange to wake up in her old room, too much nostalgia, she supposed.

_Or was it the thought of her underwater life getting mixed up with her childhood memories that bothered her?_

_Could that have _anything_ to do with those newfound feelings for the sea sponge she brought with her?_

She pondered the idea for a minute.

_Probably not._ It may have exceeded the process of realizing those feelings, but her falling for him had nothing to do with them being in Texas.

Sandy stayed in bed a few more minutes and stared blankly at the air conditioning vent on her celling.

_SpongeBob wasn't even a squirrel._

There were too many reasons why they should _not_ be in a _romantic _relationship. Sandy didn't understand why her thoughts would even go there.

_Hadn't she always seen him as a brother? Like Randy?_

Sandy shook her head. _'There was always somethin' different about my feelings for them and now I know what.'_

The squirrel dragged herself out of bed and began to dread the day before her. She'd be spending the whole day with the one person –or more precisely one sponge- whom she really needed a break from.

She needed time to clear her head, time to make sure she wouldn't do something irrational.

But instead, she was being thrown into the situation, like an unexperienced cowboy in a bull's pen at the rodeo.

Once ready (clothing wise, not really mentally ready), the squirrel walked downstairs to see SpongeBob talking to her mom.

"Now, what are y'all fixin' to do today?" She heard her mother ask SpongeBob, who was obviously thrilled about the time he was going to spend with Sandy. It was like last night never even happened.

"Sandy's going to show me her hometown!" He beamed.

Sandy for some reason felt odd. Although what the sponge said _was _the truth, it somehow sounded wrong.

"We have to drop by my old work and get his breathin' fixed." Sandy broke into their conversation, wanting to make it obvious that at least _she_ thought of their outing as 'business related' than just a reason to spend more alone time with her friend.

Mrs. Cheeks looked over to her daughter, who was standing by the end of the staircase railing.

"Mornin' Sandy… What's wrong with his breathing?" Mrs. Cheeks asked, not without sending a worried glance towards the bottom-dweller.

'_Of course, she's got to know all about her potential future son-in-law.'_ Sandy's thought and then froze. Did she seriously, in all conscience, just refer her best friend as her mother's _potential son-in-law?_

'_That would mean-'_

Sandy stopped herself again.

These thoughts were going too far.

"He's a sea sponge, Ma." Sandy said when she finally regained control over her own words. But it sounded more like she was trying to convince _herself_ that SpongeBob was a sea sponge.

Both Mrs. Cheeks and SpongeBob looked at her funny.

"Well, I know that." The older squirrel replied.

"Sea sponges don't breathe air…. Normally." Sandy looked at SpongeBob again and sighed. If only SpongeBob hadn't dropped the serum on himself. Then they wouldn't be in this situation.

Her mother would have only known SpongeBob from what Sandy _chose _to share about her friend.

Her _entire_ extended family would not know SpongeBob.

_And_ Sandy wouldn't be questioning her feelings towards the sea sponge in the first place.

"Well, Randy went to work with yer Pa's car, so y'all can use his truck." Sandy's mother said and smiled politely.

Finally, Sandy had something to smile about. On the day they arrived Randy's new vehicle had caught her eye and already, less than two days later, she was allowed to drive it.

Randy was the best.

Sandy grabbed a nut-granola bar and the keys from her mom. Then the land squirrel went on her way, not before beckoning SpongeBob to follow her.

After fastening her seatbelt, Sandy realized that she hadn't even said 'good morning' to the sponge beside her. So she did, and he happily returned her greeting.

SpongeBob's 'Good Morning!' was much more enthusiastic though.

"Can I teach you a song, Sandy?" SpongeBob asked.

"Sure!" Sandy said, trying to keep herself in a cheerful mood. She couldn't let SpongeBob know how confused and weird she was feeling just because he was sitting next to her.

"Okay! All _you_ have to do is say_ 'Road! Road! Road!' _the whole time. In a 4 quarter beat."

"That's a song?" She asked.

"Yeah, and I'm gonna sing all the other parts. So you don't get confused the first time singing it."

Sandy looked at him funny, but that didn't stop SpongeBob from teaching her his family's road trip song.

By the time they finally reached the first stoplight on NASA Pkwy, Sandy grabbed his lips to make him shut up. "Did you just realize that we've been singin' that dang song for 2 hours?!"

"Oh. Did we go through downtown Houston yet?"

"Uh-huh."

"And you didn't get to show me anything yet?"

"Uh-huh."

"Well, I guess we can go back and you can-"

The light went green and Sandy stepped on the gas pedal. She didn't want to waste any time.

"That's where I used to work." Sandy pointed out of the window to a blue circular sign that said 'SPACE CENTER' on it. SpongeBob leaned forward to get a better look at the area, but Sandy sped up and he couldn't take a closer look at the building.

"Why did you work at a space center if you invent machines and study sea creatures?"

Sandy smiled. "Well, I was also a rocket scientist, besides, just because the humans use it as a space center, doesn't mean we smaller animals have to."

The word 'human' reminded SpongeBob of the airport and the huge giant buildings.

As soon as it was somehow possible, Sandy did a u-turn to get on the other lane and SpongeBob could see the place where his friend once worked again. They parked in the parking lot and Sandy jumped out of the truck, "You comin'?"

"Yeah, I just gotta get out of here…" SpongeBob stared at the ground. The tires of this vehicle were half as big as he was and the ground seemed pretty far away from his feet.

"Uhh… Sandy? How _am_ I supposed to get out of here?"

"Just jump."

"Really?"

"Yes."

Sandy then watched SpongeBob fall face first on the burning hot concrete.

A quiet "Ouch…" came from the sea sponge.

The two walked towards the huge building. SpongeBob had quickly recovered. Sandy was really grateful that he was a sponge in that moment.

But when the sponge was about to walk through the large main doors, Sandy took his arm and swerved right at the main entrance and went straight into a ginormous hedge.

"Why don't we just go through the main entrance, like any normal random visitors?" SpongeBob asked, nervously. He didn't like all these huge leaves and branches he kept running against, Sandy dragging him along didn't help much.

She'd get the branches out of the way just in time for them not to hit herself, but then they'd always slam into SpongeBob's face.

"Because, we ain't humans" Sandy finally replied. And although that did not give SpongeBob the information he needed, he felt relived, because, right in front of him, was a small door _their _size and Sandy led him in to it.

* * *

><p>"So that was all? You just had to measure the width of my <em>lungs<em> with an x-ray and get some stuff from the lab?"

Sandy packed the rest of the supplies she'd brought from the office in to a bag. "What did you think I was going to do?"

"Well, I was kinda confused in the first place, because I thought you were going to fix it all today which wouldn't make sense because I mean, I'm going to be here at least a week and it'd be a shame if we both didn't breathe- I mean, if _I_ couldn't breathe and had to wear a helmet for _so_ long."

Sandy looked at him and smiled. She knew how that felt.

"Don't worry, I won't let you go through what I have to do every time I get out of my little treedome to go shopping, or to Goo Lagoon, or the Krusty Krab, or _your_ house." The two were sitting in their car seats again, and Sandy started to drive off.

"I guess it must be pretty hard. Wearing that suit all the time." SpongeBob looked at her.

"Oh, it's okay. Without it I would've never met you." She smiled at him, and he returned her smile, only to catch a quick glimpse of something shimmering in the distance. "Look! Water!" He pointed to the area he had seen outside of her window.

"Yeah, that's Clear Lake. But if you want to see Houston we should-"

"I want to see the lake! Please Sandy! I've never been in water outside of the water!"

His last sentence didn't make a lot of sense, but because she didn't know what else to show him, she pulled over at an empty parking lot with a pier attached to it.

This time, Sandy helped SpongeBob get out of the truck and then they both walked over to the pier.

"I wish_ I_ could drive." SpongeBob said, after he had sat down on the edge of the small boardwalk next to Sandy. "I bet I'd be the fastest. And if Mr. Krabs raised my salary a little, I could get a sportsboat! Then I'd wear these really cool sunglasses and everyone would love me! Do you think there'd be people that would want to ride in the passenger seat next with me as thier driver? Mrs. Puff does that all the time, but I'm starting to think it's not voluntary…" He then laughed it off. "Who am I kidding, Mrs. Puff loves me! I am a good noodle and her _best _student. I don't even know how long I've been in her class!"

He laughed his trademark laugh again, and then smiled at Sandy, who was watching him with an amused, somewhat distant gaze. SpongeBob hadn't seen it on her before.

"Anyway, if you want…" He smirked and leaned in her direction. "You can be the very first person to sit shotgun next to _moi_, when I get a car… and my license, of course."

A part of him expected her to laugh and say it'd be impossible for him to ever get his license.

The other part wished that she'd lean in closer and whisper that _she'd go anywhere with him_. In that case, he would definitely take her to the Goofy Goobers Ice Cream Party Boat.

He wanted to do that for a while, but he just hadn't had the courage to let Sandy in on Patrick's and his secret place. Actually, he hasn't gotten the courage to ask Patrick if Sandy would be _allowed_ to go to their second favorite restaurant. Because that was a goofy goober thing and Sandy was not a goofy goober... Yet.

But Sandy didn't do any of the things SpongeBob imagined. Instead, she still stared at him with that look and said "I'd like that."

SpongeBob blushed as he once again imagined _him_ driving _Sandy_ somewhere. They could go to a park to spar some karate and then go out to eat in the most romantic place in town… _the Krusty Krab_.

Sandy would love it!

He needed to get his license if he wanted that wish to come true.

He _needed_ to get his license.

"If only Mrs. Puff wasn't currently in jail." SpongeBob sighed. _'If only I had my license and could drive Sandy around somewhere…'_

"She's in jail?" That look on Sandy's face was long gone.

"Yeah, for failing a student too many times… again." The last part wasn't for Sandy's ears, but she heard it anyway.

She didn't need to ask who the student was; instead she skipped a pebble on the water.

There was something she wanted to ask her friend. But like all awkward questions, she had to find a way of asking it.

"Is it true that Mrs. Puff and Mr. Krabs were a couple at some point?"

"Yeah, but that was a long time ago."

Sandy nodded, thinking of a way to ask her next question. Finally, she found a way. It just, she somehow generalized the 'Mrs. Puff and Mr. Krabs' to 'two people who love each other', and spoke in present tense instead of the past.

"Ain't it weird when, two people who…who _love_ each other are both two different species?" Her voice quivered a bit, which made no sense at all. It was a harmless question and she wasn't going to tell him how she felt anyway. She was just... _wondering._

SpongeBob looked directly at her and Sandy felt her heart quicken its pace. SpongeBob blushed a little, and then shook his head, as if he was trying to get something off his mind. He wasn't looking at her anymore.

"Nah. Mr. Krabs' daughter is a whale, so I don't think the fact that Mrs. Puff is a puffer fish bothered him much. And poor Mrs. Puff is a widow. The real problem was definitely Mr. Krabs love for money."

"Ya think?"

"I _know_. I _was _the one who got them together after all."

"Heck, I had no idea you could bring a couple like that together."

"Well, _Sandra_, I happen to know a lot more about love and romance than you'd think..."

"Very funny." Sandy nudged him with her elbow and started laughing.

"I mean it!" The sea creature said with a straight face. "I got Squidward and Squilvia together, Mr. Krabs and Mrs. Puff... and... well Gary kind of found love without my help."

"And _you_?"

"What do ya mean?"

"Have _you_ fallen in love?"

SpongeBob avoided Sandy's gaze and looked down at his feet, swinging his legs back and forth over the water. Sandy, however, bent over and caught a glimpse of a red blush on his cheeks. Once again her heartbeat's pace sped, but this time it was an urgent, jealous feeling.

_SpongeBob actually liked someone._

"Who is it?" She demanded.

"Huh?" he spun around to look at her. Although he pretended that he didn't know what she was talking about, Sandy saw the red color still lingering on his skin and knew very well that he knew what she meant.

"Well, Mr. LoveBob RomancePants." She said, not as demanding as before. "I don't think you'd be blushin' like that if you weren't thinking of someone right now. Please tell me who it is."

"I can't tell you that." SpongeBob looked in the opposite direction than Sandy, but she could still see the corner of his lips curved into a smile.

"I know it's someone..."

He spun around in shock. "Who told you?"

Sandy laughed. "I can tell by the way you're blushin' and smilin'. You're as red as a tomato in the summer time!"

"I am not!" SpongeBob childishly covered his cheeks with his hands, but his blush was still visible.

"Yes, you are. Now tell me who it is. I won't tell a single soul."

SpongeBob's smile slowly faded and his sparkling blue eyes clouded. For a second Sandy payed more attention to the way his eyes changed color than what he was saying.

That wasn't possible; surely her eyes were playing tricks on her.

That's when SpongeBob spoke up, and his happy, blushing self, had changed to his depressed self, which was a sign that he could start crying any second.

"You... you don't love anyone, so why should I tell you?"

Sandy almost uttered a 'what?' before she remembered what he was talking about.

"You said you don't even _believe_ in love..." SpongeBob continued, with a worried look. Sandy had to stop his train of thoughts before he really did start crying, because knowing her friend, he was just right about to.

"That ain't true. I was just sayin' that because it doesn't make a ton of sense to me." Sandy _was_ telling the truth.

"What doesn't make sense?" SpongeBob sniffled, about to break out in tears.

Sandy couldn't help herself though; she needed to explain last night. "The whole falling in love thing, besides, it's just awful when you realize you're starting to like someone."

_She was just making this whole thing worse, wasn't she?_

SpongeBob shook his head. "No, it's 'awful' when you're trying to tell yourself you don't like that that person when you do. It's awful having your heart get broken. It's awful when you realize that person doesn't like you back. But it's wonderful loving a person."

The words hit her like a train going 150 miles per hour. _And_ SpongeBob had started crying.

"Uh… SpongeBob? Where'd you get that from?"

"Oh. I…" He wiped a tear off of his cheeks. "I just read it in one of those girly teen magazines. Y'know… Mr. Krabs gave it to me for $3 because Pearl wanted to throw it away and Mr. Krabs doesn't really like being wasteful. Did you know the 'boys who cry' band broke up?"

Sandy stared at her friend. "No… I did not…"

Luckily, SpongeBob wasn't crying anymore.

"Anyway, from what you heard, do you think…" he started playing with his tie, "Do you think its _guppy love_?"

"I don't know, what we call puppy love is more a teenage feeling from what I've heard." She sighed. Sandy herself was still trying to figure out her own feelings. How was she supposed to help her _crush_ understand his? "Do you like this person a lot?" The squirrel finally asked, turning to her friend.

"Of course I do. I get really excited whenever I see her. And I don't mind the tingly feeling in my stomach, you know, the jellyfish felling." SpongeBob grinned at Sandy who returned his smile. She felt warmth spread across her cheeks and quickly turned away, hoping SpongeBob wouldn't see her blush.

"I don't like that feeling." She admitted, looking at the water. "It makes me feel awful nervous."

"Well, I_ never_ get nervous." SpongeBob was trying to be 'the man'. Which Sandy didn't like at all.

"Is that so, SpongeBob? 'Cause I can name at least twenty situations where you were as nervous as a long tailed cat in a room full of rockin' chairs."

"Oh yeah? And when you…" SpongeBob tried to think of a situation where Sandy had ever been nervous. "When you realized that the _tongue_ of the Alaskan Bull Worm was its tongue?"

Sandy rolled her eyes. "Ya could've told me it was gonna be _that _big."

"That's what I was telling you the whole time!"

The squirrel waved it off, they had been talking about SpongeBob's love life, and she still needed to find out _who_ he liked. Even if she _wasn't_ planning on _ever_ telling him about her feelings.

"So, will you tell me a little bit more about the person ya like?"

"Oh yeah, her." SpongeBob blushed, leaned back and began watching the clouds.

Sandy let herself lay down on the pier as well; still having her feet dangle over the water. "So?" She urged.

"Well... the only thing I _don't _like is when you keep telling yourself they're just a friend." He began, secretly hoping Sandy would agree.

But Sandy just turned to look at him. She tried to think of a girl SpongeBob was friends with but no one came to mind.

There was Pearl, but she was too young, his boss' daughter, and Sandy wasn't even sure if the two were friends.

But there really weren't any other people that came to mind.

It suddenly bugged her at how little she knew about this particular part of SpongeBob's life.

"Inside I _really _want her to be more than that." SpongeBob said, looking directly into Sandy's eyes.

Sandy's heart started pounding for no apparent reason.

"I have to force myself not to act _too _badly in love around her because I really don't want her to find out that I like her."

_Why did SpongeBob's words sound so strangely familiar?_

"I mean, I _do_, but I'm afraid she'll reject me, because..." He looked back up at the blue sky. "Who would like a guy who doesn't even have his boating license?" SpongeBob sat up again and continued his monologue. "But sometimes I get distracted about little details about that person." He turned to Sandy. "Like the time I noticed that when the sunlight hits you, your fur shines this pretty golden color. I like that."

Sandy felt her cheeks burn and she looked in to his sapphire eyes, raising an eyebrow to make him conscious of his words, but he didn't notice.

"And one time I was so close to reaching out and..." He gently stroked the top of Sandy's head and then quickly pulled his hand back. He had seen Sandy's concerned expression just a few seconds too late.

Never in his life was he so embarrassed.

Except, _maybe_ that time he had to take off his pants in front of a lot of teenage girls because of _the hooks_.

"I- I-mean, what I was g-going to say is that I-" He now knew that he couldn't talk about things like love around Sandy.

Last time, his heart ended up getting broken. This time, he let one of his utmost secrets slip out.

"I didn't mean to say that I uh… like-like you. That'd be weird because you're a squirrel and I'm… well… obviously not and you're my friend and friends aren't supposed like-like each other. _Right_?"

"Exactly." Sandy sat up and scooted away from her _friend_.

He saw that and immediately assumed that the 'exactly' had been sarcastic.

'_Oh shrimp. She knows. SquarePants, pull yourself together...' _The sponge took a deep breath._ 'I am a man!'_

The 'man' grabbed Sandy's wrists and tears began swelling up in his eyes. So much for being a man, but he just couldn't lose his friendship with Sandy over something like this!

"Sandy! You _have_ to believe me! That _really_ was an accident. I didn't mean to-"

"It could've happened to either one of us." She said, and then regretted her words and tore her arms from his grasp.

The longer they talked about love or feelings or _this_, the more those strange feelings got to her head. And the longer those strange feelings got to her head, the more capable she'd become at letting something slip out of her mouth like he just did.

The squirrel _needed_ this conversation to end.

She didn't know why SpongeBob had said that. Maybe her fur really did have a slightly golden tint in the sun and he got distracted by it.

But now that everything was so strange between them, Sandy wasn't even sure if she wanted to find out who _the girl_ was. There were two reasons, one, she'd have to talk about things like love with him again, second, she's have a one-sided enemy for the rest of her life.

This conversation _needed_ to end.

"SpongeBob. I think we ought to get going now."

"I really didn't want to ruin our friendship!"

The squirrel did a long sigh. "Ya didn't ruin our friendship, SpongeBob. Now don't fret about it."

But SpongeBob couldn't 'not fret about it'. "I'm really sorry! Just please forget I ever said that!"

Without thinking, Sandy took his hands and pulled him closer. "It's already forgotten SpongeBob."

"Really?" Wanting an answer, he moved in closer.

"Yes." Answering, she leaned in closer.

"Really, really?" They were just centimeters apart from each other.

Sandy let her gaze flit to those two buck teeth.


	11. Kisses and Starfishes

**Second fastest update so far! School's starting up again and I wanted this posted before that.**

**I was soooo happy to get all of your reviews and I smiled so much after reading each one! Thank you all so much!**

**Well… I'm pretty sure this next chapter won't be like most of you imagined it… but I hope you enjoy reading it anyway. :)**

**Chapter 11:**

**Kisses and Starfishes**

Unbeknownst to her, there were situations where emotions over took one's thoughts.

What was also unbeknownst to her was that that she was in one of those situations.

Sandy eyed the sponge's pearly whites, her thoughts too foggy for even herself to understand.

And SpongeBob's brain went _crazy_ when he noticed what the female squirrel was looking at.

The romance movies he watched _always_ had scenes like this.

Someone's gaze would dart to the other's lips and then they'd both lean in and- _He didn't have any mouth spray at his aid this time!_

_Was he supposed to pucker his lips or pull her closer?_

_What if his nose got in the way?_

_Was Sandy really going to kiss him?_

_What did he have for breakfast this morning?_

_Did Squidward feed Gary?_

All he knew is that he was supposed to close his eyes, lean in and-

A loud, twangy country song played out of nowhere.

Sandy dropped the sponge's hand and jumped back at the shocking closeness they shared.

SpongeBob's eyes shot open and he jumped back as well, at the same time a deep red blush spread across his already freckled cheeks. Sandy surely saw the way he had leaned forward with his eyes closed, his lips slightly puckered as if waiting to be kissed.

He looked around, trying to find the source of the strange music and also trying to avoid Sandy's gaze.

That was when the male caught Sandy reach in to her pocket and pull out a cell phone.

Mobile devices weren't very widespread in Bikini Bottom, but SpongeBob noticed these "cell-phones" were much more popular up on land. He'd seen Sandy's relatives and friends texting or playing games on them. It seemed like a lot of animals up here had one. But SpongeBob never would've guessed that Sandy possessed one.

The squirrel pressed a button and the country music immediately silenced.

"Howdy! Sandy Cheeks here!" She talked into the device, greeting whoever was on the other end of the line. "No. Y'all didn't interrupt anything. ...yeah, we're about 2 hours- What? ... Why? ... Okay. We were fixin' ta get home anyway. Love y'all! Bye." Sandy slipped the phone back into her pocket.

"We gotta go home, SpongeBob. It was Randy. Something came up and my parents want us back at the treehouse." She gave him a worried glance and then waked over to where she parked the truck.

SpongeBob followed her, pensively touching his lips.

The squirrel opened the door for him before climbing into the driver's seat herself. She couldn't help but wonder what was going on at home and why her family needed them back so early. Starting the engine, she noticed the sponge was playing with his fingers, something he didn't usually do. "You okay?"

"I'm fine but..." He took a deep breath before asking her. "Were you going to _kiss _me?" Sandy watched his fingers clench tightly together at the word 'kiss'.

At first she didn't know what he was talking about. She was still thinking about Randy's phone call. Sandy had to take a moment and ask herself the question.

_Was she going to kiss SpongeBob?_

Surely her deepest thoughts hadn't gotten a hold of her actions that quick.

"SpongeBob, to be completely honest, I have no idea what you're talking about. When was I about to kiss you?"

The sponge avoided Sandy's gaze.

"Well… we were both kind of leaning in and you were holding my hands, and we were so close, and I thought- You looked at my mouth."

Sandy mentally recalled her actions before her brother called.

All blood drained from Sandy's face.

Kissing him would have been the almost inevitable ending of their conversation. Even if Sandy _wasn't _looking at SpongeBob's mouth.

"I was looking at your teeth." She said, truthfully, and put her hands on the steering wheel. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw SpongeBob blush even more. _Poor guy._ But she didn't know what to say.

She hadn't been _consciously_ thinking of kissing the sea sponge.

Actually, the only times she had really_ thought_ of kissing him this week was on the balcony of their hotel and last night when she was pondering over her feelings for him. But it wasn't because she wanted to at the moment. It was because she was thinking about the fact that SpongeBob wasn't wearing his helmet for once _and_ the whole sea creature/land critter thing.

Of course, there had been a few fleeting thoughts about kissing him in Bikini Bottom.

But her or his helmet was always in the way and it was just a caught-up-in-the-moment thought.

Like, when an experiment of hers worked and he happened to be standing next to her, or something terrible happened to him and it turned out he was alright or when she found him after he had ran off or gotten lost. Then there was that one time when she had pinned him down in a karate match… But thoughts like that only came in those ephemeral moments.

And the spontaneous kiss was always replaced by a friendly hug just in time, because none of them could take their helmets off _and_ risk the chance of making their friendship completely awkward.

A single moment of bliss was not worth losing one of the greatest friendships.

Now that she thought about it, her feelings for the sponge beside her weren't exactly new, just newly recognized.

Sandy looked at the yellow sea sponge. He was still blushing and avoiding her gaze.

Maybe she was the girl he liked.

'_No. Sandy. You aren't.'_ She told herself and put the keys in ignition.

After they started driving off, Sandy turned on a country radio station, constantly switching it to another every time a love song came on.

SpongeBob, tired of the twangy accents, mandolins, banjos and acoustic guitars, fidgeted with his tie and the collar of his shirt. He would roll his window down and back up over and over again, tap his fingers on the dashboard and look out at the boring concrete highways.

Despite both of their whirling thoughts, no one said a word until Sandy parked in front of the tree.

"Thanks for showing me around, Sandy."

The squirrel didn't know how to answer.

_My pleasure? _ No.

_You're welcome?_ Golly! She could've kissed him and then all those weird feelings would be undeniable!

_No problem?_ Sure, it's not like her heart and all her thoughts weren't completely jumbled up and threatening the loss of her sanity.

_'Almost kissin' a sea critter... what were you thinking?! This ain't yer best friend in the entire world, the same guy you promised yourself you wouldn't show your feelings to!' _Sandy shook her head.

She ended up saying that she was glad he got to see more of Texas.

"It's a nice place."

After giving the sponge a swift nod, Sandy swung the car door open, jumped out of it and walked to her parents' front door. SpongeBob followed suit.

Sandy's brother opened the door, giving both his sister and her guest a serious look. Randy was tense, which meant that something was definitely wrong.

"Uh… SpongeBob," He didn't bother greeting them, "you've got a visitor."

"Who is it?!" The only female in the room demanded, immediately thinking of the chipmunk in LA who SpongeBob so bluntly told they were going to Texas or that hamster. Who SpongeBob thought was oh-so-wonderful with her buckteeth and knowledge.

SpongeBob, however, was on a different train of thought.

Could it be the mailman? Maybe the faithful, purple fish was delivering him that new grill cleaner he had ordered before he left! (Mr. Krabs made his employees buy the cleaning supplies themselves)

Or was he being followed by salesmen once again? The yellow sponge shuddered at the thought.

"To be completely honest with y'all…" Randy began, looking a bit too perplexed for his muscular, Texas-tough self. "I have no idea. The only thing _he_ said was that he wanted to see SpongeBob. Since then he's been sittin' on the couch staring at the wall. I suppose he's waiting for y'all."

"Are you pullin' my-" Sandy stopped short when she saw the creature sitting in the living room.

SpongeBob frowned; he wasn't tall enough to see what Sandy was looking at.

"Who is it, Sandy?" He whispered, standing on his tip toes. The sponge caught a glimpse of round glass -a water or an air helmet- but that was all.

The squirrel wouldn't reply. Her jaw opened, but in shock and not because she was going to answer his question.

"Sandy, I can't see!" SpongeBob exclaimed, much louder than his previous whisper, "Who is it?!"

Sandy, however, let their guest reply to his question.

"SPONGEBOB!" An extremely familiar voice called out.

The called sponge was paralyzed for a moment. A single name was the only thing his mouth would utter:"_Patrick_?"

The pink, chubby starfish jumped off of the couch and ran over towards the two squirrels and the sponge in a fast pace- at least, for that particular pink creature.

SpongeBob gasped at the sight of his very best friend in the whole world. _What was Patrick doing in Sandy's childhood home?_

One of the tiny SpongeBobs inside his head tried to remind him that _he_ didn't belong in the Cheek's home either. But the thought didn't stick.

SpongeBob didn't know if he was supposed to be thrilled about Patrick's arrival or worried.

He hadn't had this much alone time with Sandy in a _long_ time. What would it be like if Patrick was following them throughout the trip?

SpongeBob tossed the thought aside as soon as Patrick, their uninvited visitor, had thrown his arms around him.

Patrick's hugs were tight, but not like Sandy's. The sponge realized. Her hugs felt like unspoken promises and safety.

Patrick's felt like possessiveness and like the starfish wanted to squeeze all the life out of him.

But the two hugs both had that wonderful sense of feeling loved.

That was one of the reasons why SpongeBob loved hugs, and he loved his best friend even more.

"Why are you here, Patrick?" SpongeBob asked, his mouth squished against the newcomer's stomach.

Patrick let go of him, and SpongeBob fell to the ground for the second time today.

"Why did you _leave _me?"

SpongeBob stuttered; he hadn't expected the starfish to be _mad_ at him. That's when Sandy regained composure and stomped in their direction.

"Patrick? What in tarnation?" She fiercely put her hands on her hips.

"That's what I thought when you stole my best friend."

"SpongeBob doesn't belong to you!"

"Does he belong to you?"

Both Randy and SpongeBob himself looked in her direction, wondering what the squirrel would answer.

"What are you doing here, Patrick?" Sandy asked, without giving any further answer to Patrick's question but a quick frown.

Patrick shrugged and turned to his best friend. "I followed you."

"What?!" SpongeBob and Sandy both asked at the same time.

"I couldn't just let my best friend be alone in...in... _Texas_!"

Sandy folded her arms. "Patrick, SpongeBob is doin' absolutely fine and it's not like he ain't coming back."

Patrick squinted his eyes at her and muttered the words "best friend stealer" under his breath. Then he turned to SpongeBob. "Did I surprise you buddy?"

"I sure am... surprised." The sea sponge stuttered.

He should be thrilled to see his very best friend. Part of him was.

The other part, however, the part that not too many people had seen before, was completely baffled.

With Sandy having almost kissed him and him having all these crazy thoughts and feelings for the squirrel; Patrick came at the worst time possible.

"Come on, SpongeBob, let's get out of this..." Patrick looked around, thinking of a way to describe his surroundings. "…_place_." Patrick took his arm and was about to pull his friend out of the treehouse, when SpongeBob ripped himself from his own arm.

Randy gasped. But he was the only one in the room who thought of how horrific it was that the sponge could disjoin his arm from the rest of his body and grow a new one in its place. Sleeve attached.

"You can't just come here and think I'm gonna leave with you!" SpongeBob shouted, and then covered his mouth in shock. He didn't mean to scream at Patrick. He lowered his voice. "I mean, I'm having a great time with Sandy and I don't really want to leave yet."

Actually, he wasn't sure if he was having a great time with her or the worst time.

Patrick's eyes went wide. "You… you traitor!" He pointed to the best friends ring on SpongeBob's finger. Sandy interrupted them once again, jumping in for the yellow one.

"SpongeBob ain't yours, Patrick. He never was and never will be. Y'all may be the bestest of friends, but that don't change the fact that SpongeBob is his own person. He can leave you _whenever_ he wants."

Patrick glared at the squirrel once again. "What if I took SpongeBob somewhere far away and you never see him again?"

"Well, if you take SpongeBob somewhere without his willin' that means you kidnapped him and since you most likely aren't informed about laws and such things: Kidnappin' is illegal. I'd search y'all and I can assure ya, I'd find that sponge." She talked about SpongeBob like he wasn't even there. "And then, I'd call the cops." She threatened.

"So can I call the cops on you? Because you kidnapped SpongeBob?"

"I didn't kidnap SpongeBob. He _wanted_ to come with me. He _begged _to come with me. Ain't that right Spongy?"

SpongeBob was speechless.

Randy gave him a small smile, and then SpongeBob chuckled. "I'm not sure if I'd call it _begging..._"

Patrick and Sandy frowned and then Sandy's parents came in.

Mrs. Cheek's looked stressed –but relieved to see that her daughter and the sponge were home. "Howdy, SpongeBob! Sandy. I'm glad y'all are back here and have already seen our _surprise visitor_."

Sandy forced herself not to roll her eyes.

"What's his name?" Mrs. Cheek's head was tilted slightly to the side. "He wouldn't talk to us earlier…"

SpongeBob took his chance to get back on Patrick's good side. "This is Patrick Star; he's my best friend in the entire ocean!"

Patrick smiled at that and shoved Sandy away from the sponge. "I am."

"Well then, y'all sure must've missed him, haven't you?"

"Who?"

"Why, SpongeBob of course."

Patrick frowned. "I don't get it."

Mrs. Cheeks looked confused, then hurt. "Is it my accent?" She whispered to her husband, who shook his head.

This time, Sandy rolled her eyes, but at Patrick and not at her mother.

Sandy's mother then saw SpongeBob's detached arm in the starfish's hand and gasped.

But no one bothered to explain the situation.

Instead, Randy changed the subject. "Where is he going to sleep?"

They decided that Patrick would sleep in the guest room with SpongeBob. Then, there was the problem that there was only one bed. Someone suggested that one of them could sleep on an air mattress.

Once that was fixed up, Patrick claimed the bed SpongeBob had slept on the whole time, to which Mrs. Cheeks argued that SpongeBob would hurt his back sleeping on the mattress the whole time (Sandy's mother obviously liked the sea sponge more than their newer guest). And Sandy ended their discussion saying that both sea creatures were invertebrates. If one of them had a backache, it had nothing to do with the place they slept on.

"Are you _sure_ you're having a great time with Sandy?" Patrick asked, once the squirrels had left them alone. Sandy was going to work on the antidote and the other squirrels just left to do their own thing as well.

SpongeBob wasn't acting like his normal self, even Patrick could tell. The sponge wouldn't stop checking himself out in the mirror muttering things like _"Are my teeth really that noticeable?"_, _"Why was she looking at me like that?", "Does she know I like her?"_

He turned around to face Patrick as soon as the starfish asked his question. "Why wouldn't I be having a great time with her? We're great friends!"

"Well, you keep looking in the mirror all nervous." The starfish pointed out.

SpongeBob did an overly-dramatic, frustrated movement with his arms and then let himself fall on the guest bed.

"Patrick I'm… I'm… _discombobulated_! My life is a complete mess! I miss Gary and the Krusty Krab and can't help but wonder how poor Squidward is doing without me… I let my secrets slip out like crazy and I feel like Sandy's dad is judging me and her mom sometimes seems to like me more than she likes Sandy! Randy's real nice and all, but who knows, shouldn't Sandy like a guy like him? I guess Sandy did say she's never been in love but then she almost-" He stopped right there.

He'd slipped out enough private information today. Besides, Sandy denied that she was about to kiss him.

Patrick frowned. "So, if you're 'dis-bob-ulateded', does that mean your name is just Sponge SquarePants?"

"No Patrick, it means I'm confused."

"Well, if that's the case, I can help you!"

"Really?"

"Uh-huh. I'm really confused."

SpongeBob frowned and starred at the ceiling.

If only Patrick could tell him what he should do. His friend was normally so good at giving advice.

SpongeBob thought about the time he met Sandy.

_When in doubt, pinky out!_

SpongeBob raised his hand, because right now, SpongeBob really doubted.

_Was Sandy really just looking at his teeth?_

_Was she in love with someone or not?_

_And did she know about his super-secret crush on her?_


	12. Ignored

**I'm so sorry this chapter took so long! It took **_**forever **_**to write this chapter because it isn't necessarily one of my favorites (and I had writer's block) and I was very busy as well.**

**Also, thank you all so much for all of the feedback! Even the feedback some of you gave me on my other stories in the meanwhile. I haven't PMed anyone about it, so I just wanted to say that here. "Thank you!"**

**I really, really appreciate everything and hope that this long wait hasn't made any of you lose interest in the story.**

**Well, here goes chapter 12…**

**Chapter 12:**

**Ignored**

Sandy Cheeks had no idea of his super-secret crush on her.

But SpongeBob didn't know that. He thought the squirrel was purposely avoiding him because she _knew_.

'_Your fur shines this pretty golden color. I like that.'_

'_Were you going to kiss me?'_

Whenever he wasn't occupied with Patrick or one of Sandy's family members, his last conversation with his only female friend would haunt him.

Maybe he was overreacting.

_But when you accidently slip out an indication of your most secretive, most private-_

"SpongeBob! It's your turn!"

Patrick's voice rang through the Cheeks' living room. It had been unusually quiet for a while and the sponge was torn out of his thoughts. Randy held out the dice for SpongeBob; they were playing a board game and it was SpongeBob's turn to roll the dice and move his game piece.

"Sorry." SpongeBob blushed and took the dice out of Randy's paws. He took his turn, but his thoughts were still occupied on the squirrel he'd almost kissed two days ago.

SpongeBob, although in the same building as Sandy, hadn't seen the female squirrel for 48 hours. As soon as his new mattress was set up and Patrick's belongings were brought into the guestroom, Sandy took off to work on her invention.

The squirrel had been avoiding contact with everyone since.

Last night, during dinner, someone had brought up Sandy's 'disappearance.' She was still in the house, but that was only proved by the few 'sightings' and her 'I'm not hungry; y'all can eat without me.' calls whenever she was called out of her room for any meals.

SpongeBob was starting to worry about his friend, but no one else seemed worried in particular, just disappointed.

"She's always like that when she's workin' on something important. It's a shame she's doing it now, when we could be spending time as a family." Her mother said.

Sandy's father just nodded and Randy suggested various things to get Sandy out of her room.

"Let's do another surprise party. I could invite some of our old high school friends. I'm sure she'd love to see Loretta and Kelly and-"

"Have any of you even seen Sandy?" SpongeBob asked, interrupting their conversation.

Mrs. Cheeks said she'd seen her daughter in the kitchen, but the younger squirrel had only said a quick "I'm busy; just need some food." and then walked back upstairs with a bowl of acorns in her hands.

Mr. Cheeks said she had been in the garage to get something for whatever invention she was working on.

Randy said he asked her if he could help with anything, but she just shook her head and asked him to leave her room.

Patrick claimed to have had a short conversation with the squirrel. Something about him asking her why she chose this 'hotel'. Sandy told him it was her parents' house and went back into her room, locking the door behind her.

But SpongeBob hadn't seen the squirrel at all and he feared it was because of what_ he_ said.

"Yee-haw!" Randy jumped up. "I got two sixes!"

SpongeBob's thoughts were, once again, torn back into the current time. Randy was about to win the game. SpongeBob smiled. "That's great!"

Patrick was less enthusiastic. "Now I know why they call this a _bored_-game; time to play hide-and-seek!" The pink starfish declared and folded the game board together. Erasing every progress they had made throughout their one hour long game.

"Patrick, you wanted to play this, remember?" SpongeBob reminded him. Patrick had ruined the game for all of them, especially Randy, who had been extremely close to winning.

"Yeah. But I'm better in hide-and-seek."

Randy and SpongeBob looked at each other. No matter how much SpongeBob adored his best friend, he could tell Randy was on edge with the starfish.

The squirrel shrugged. "I better go. Pa's fixin' to-" He was pulled out of balance when someone tugged on his tail. He yelped and spun around. SpongeBob and Patrick turned to the newcomer as well; it was Sandy.

With one paw the squirrel grabbed her brother's shoulder. Her cellphone was held tightly in her other hand.

Randy's face lit up at the sight of his sister. "Howdy Sandy, we sure have missed you! How are ya?"

Sandy didn't answer him, just beckoned to her cellphone by tipping her head in its direction. "Y'all don't have anything planned next Thursday, right?"

"That's in a week…" Randy thought about it for a second. "Aren't you leaving the Saturday after that?"

Sandy didn't answer. "Do you have something planned or not?"

"I don't think there's anything goin' on that day…"

"'K', thanks." She pressed the phone back to her ear. The three males watched her pace around the living room. "Sorry about that. I'll be there." She said, a serious expression on her face. "I understand. I'll be there. See you then." She pressed a button to hang up and slipped the device into her pocket. Sandy sighed and looked at her brother, then at Patrick and then at SpongeBob.

SpongeBob's heart skipped a beat and a huge smile spread across his face. This was the first time he'd seen Sandy since Patrick showed up and she _wasn't_ completely ignoring him as he thought she would.

Sandy smiled back, but the smile didn't reach her eyes.

"Who was it Sandy?" The sponge asked, happy that his friend had taken note that he was there and hadn't decided to cut off their friendship because of anything he said or did in the past few days.

"Oh, it was just an old friend who wants to catch up with me while I'm in town." Sandy ended her sentence with a nervous chuckle.

Randy raised an eyebrow at his sister. "It didn't sound like you had a friend on the other line." He muttered in her direction as he walked out of the living room.

Sandy sent her brother a glare and then smiled at SpongeBob _and_ Patrick.

'_Be friendly Sandy. Patrick and SpongeBob are your friends, just your friends. Nothing more.'_

She tried to only look at Patrick, but she couldn't help but taking a few glances at the sponge as well. Sandy bit her lip. They were waiting for her to say something.

"How are y'all doing?"

That was the only thing she managed to get out.

"You've been gone the last two days…" SpongeBob said and his smile broke away as soon as he realized she wasn't going to immediately say _why_ she was gone for so long.

'_She's avoiding me. She knows and that's why she's been hiding from me.'_

Sandy wasn't Squidward. The squirrel didn't just ignore people that were extremely important to her. _Sandy knew he liked her and she-_

"I have to work on the antidote to yer little breathing problem." Sandy reminded the sea sponge and turned to Patrick. "And you, Patrick?"

"I'm wonderful!"

Both SpongeBob and Sandy were taken aback by Patrick's sudden mood change.

"Randy took us to this really cool place when he got home from work yesterday! It was _huge_! We had so much fun without you! Then, we went to a fast food restaurant so SpongeBob could compare the burgers here to Krabby Patties. It was awesome! You should be gone more often!"

SpongeBob cringed and Sandy's tail twitched. "Um… well… that's nice." The female began. "I was fixing to go back right now so…" Her gaze caught SpongeBob's. The sponge scrambled off of the ground and sprinted towards the squirrel.

"Wait, Sandy! You just came downstairs!" SpongeBob said, gasping for air. "Don't you want to play a few rounds of good ole hide-and-seek with us?" He tried grinning, but his smile turned to a frown as soon as the squirrel took a few cautious steps back.

Sandy could already imagine accidently picking out the same hiding spot as him. They'd be stuck somewhere small and dark. Somewhere were her fur would be brushing against his skin. Somewhere where the only sound they'd hear would be each other's breathing.

The thought frightened her.

"No thanks, I don't really have time for that right now."

SpongeBob nodded and Sandy was surprised that he gave up on inviting her to play with them so quickly.

"Is it _almost _finished?" He asked.

"What?"

"The antidote…"

"I'm working on it." She said curtly. Supposing their conversation was finished, she started walking back to her room. SpongeBob quickly caught up with her. He was probably making things worse, but he needed to know _why_ she was really avoiding him.

"Sandy, do you know why I _really_ wanted to come here?"

The squirrel stopped walking and turned around. They were in the hallway and SpongeBob was waiting for her to respond. She sighed. "Why?"

"Because all you were doing was working on your inventions and experiments. I mean, I don't have a problem with that. Being a scientist is your passion_ and _profession just like mine is being the fry cook at the Krusty Krab. But I thought if I came with you on this vacation we'd spend… well… _more_ time together." He looked at his shoes. Maybe that was the wrong thing to say. But it was said and couldn't be taken back, just like the secrets he had slipped out on the pier.

"We've spent a lot of time together in the past few days. But I-"

Sandy was interrupted.

"You're in your room the whole time, Sandy." _I'm worried about you. _He wanted to add the last part, but didn't.

The squirrel stiffened, shook her head and faked a smile. "I'm just working on the serum. It'll be done in no time."

"Is it because of Patrick?"

"No, why would I be working on a serum to fix _your_ breathing because of Patrick?"

"No, I mean, are you in your room because Patrick came or…" SpongeBob was getting to the point where his emotions would come up to the surface and his eyes started to tear up. Maybe Sandy didn't like him at all. He didn't know if he should finish his sentence.

But Sandy wanted him too. "…_Or?_"

"Is it because of what I said the other day?" SpongeBob asked, about to break down.

_Yes. It was. Sandy, one of his best friends, didn't want anything to do with him because he had these stupid, unavoidable feelings for her that weren't requited and-_

"No." Sandy interrupted his thoughts and took a deep breath. "I have to get your breathing fixed." She avoided his gaze and looked at the pictures hung up on the wall. One of the pictures was of Randy and her playing in an above ground pool. Randy was about to jump in the water and Sandy was already swimming in it. She wasn't swimming freestyle, or backstroke or even butterfly. Sandy was doggy-paddling. She was trying to keep her head above the water, trying to _breathe_.

She continued to stare at the picture. "We can't have you wearing an air helmet back in Bikini Bottom. You'd have to come to my house every time you'd want to eat something or brush yer teeth or-"

"I wouldn't mind that."

Sandy looked at him.

SpongeBob quickly corrected himself. "I can _filter-feed_, Sandy. I'm a sea sponge. We don't have to eat."

"Ya need to be in the water to filter-feed, Spongey." Sandy said. She gave him a quick pat on the back and went back into her room, leaving SpongeBob alone in the hallway.

Because there was nothing else to do, other than go back to the living room and play hide-and-seek with Patrick, (who would just get upset if he lost and then suggest a different game) SpongeBob looked at the picture Sandy had been staring at. He could tell Sandy and her brother were the two little squirrels in the pool. SpongeBob smiled; Sandy looked happy in the water.

In a room only a few feet away, that same squirrel was making an invention so that _SpongeBob _could breathe in water again.

And for a split second, he wondered if the serum could work on Sandy too.


	13. Burger Toppings

**THANK YOU SO MUCH for the reviews/follows/favorites! And thanks for reading this story as well. :)**

**Here's the answer MasterOfImagination's question, in case anyone else was wondering the same thing: The animals up on land in this story live pretty much like the ones in Bikini Bottom… so like we do.**

**Whenever I work on this fanfic I always get carried away and come up with random new scenes and change my mind and add more chapters and delete stuff I once thought would be really important **_**despite**_** the fact that I had a long first draft for the whole fanfic before I even posted the first chapter. That means some chapters get unnecessarily long.**

**Chapter 13:**

**Burger Toppings**

Sandy had most of the ingredients needed to fix SpongeBob's "lungs". She knew what the serum was supposed to do and what she needed to do to make it. Right now, all she had to do now was actually start mixing the new concoction.

Normally, that was the easier part, but it wasn't this time. Her best friend/secret crush's life was at stake.

One mistake and SpongeBob could be gone forever.

Sandy shook her head.

She was no doctor, but she knew enough about sea creatures and the anatomy of various animals to know what_ not_ to do. And if she wasn't 100% sure about something, she still had some old textbooks from her Marine Biology studies. Sandy took a quick glance at her bookshelf.

A large book with the words 'SEA SPONGES' caught her eye.

A little embarrassed and curious why she owned a book like that, she decided to read it as soon as she had time. Just to avoid any unnecessary and dangerous mistakes.

The last thing she wanted to do was poison the poor fella.

Sandy turned back to the chemicals and paper scraps with notes scribbled all over them.

She needed something to show her bosses that she was still the brilliant genius they first sent underwater.

She also needed to have that safe glass border between her and SpongeBob again.

She thought of what happened at the pier.

Next time, she might actually _kiss_ the naïve sea sponge.

_Then what? Would she tell him it was an accident? That she accidentally got caught up in his beautiful, sparkling, sapphire blue eyes and just subconsciously leaned forward to touch his lips with hers?_

Sandy banged her head on the table. She could not let that happen.

And that's why she needed to fix SpongeBob's breathing so quickly.

Her new serum was definitely easer to make, because she already had made its opposite, well, by accident.

Sandy pulled a desk drawer out and took some empty containers out of it. She scooped a teaspoon of something out of a jar and mentally told herself what to do.

_'Just pour a teaspoon of this in-'_

She stopped short when she heard the doorknob turn and her old bedroom's door open up.

"There you are, Sandy-darlin'!"

The squirrel spun around in her swivel chair to see her mother standing in the doorway. Sandy was in her pajamas. She looked at the alarm clock by her bed. It was 5 PM. Friday.

Although currently in her sleepwear, Sandy _did_ take a shower early in the morning. But after that she'd slipped right back into some old flannel pajamas. There wasn't any need to get dressed if she was staying in her room. _No._ She saw a need to stay in her room if she wasn't dressed for the day, that's why wearing her pajamas was so necessary. Yesterday she had left her room and was almost about to get pulled into a game of hide-and-seek.

_And then what would have happened? Another 'almost kiss' right when Patrick would have found them?_

Sandy's eyes widened in horror as the images played in front of her mind.

'_I found you-Ooh! Sandy and SpongeBob kissing in a-' _Sandy shook her head.

"Why don't you come downstairs and join us?" Mrs. Cheeks ended her proposal with a smile and waited for a reply.

The younger squirrel hadn't been listening. She straightened her pajama-shirt. "What are y'all doin'?"

"We're gonna eat and we'd like you to join us."

Sandy looked at her desk and then back to her mom. Us. 'Us' meant her parents, Randy, Patrick _and_ SpongeBob.

"Could you just bring me some? I think I'd like to eat up here." Alone. She bit back the last word.

"I'm not bringing anything up here especially with all those chemicals ya got on your desk. Who knows what could happen if they get mixed up with yer food!"

"They won't get 'mixed up with my food'." Sandy deadpanned, carefully shoving the test tubes and chemical jars towards her wall. Maybe picking those up would have been a better idea. One of the test tubes fell over.

Mrs. Cheeks gasped. Sandy jumped up and grabbed a napkin. It was only water, but her mother didn't know that.

"We're grillin' outside and you're coming." The older squirrel decided. "Besides, you need to get up and dressed."

"It's too hot outside…" Sandy groaned, hoping the heat was a reason to stay inside that her mother would agree with.

"It's always hot in Texas."

Sandy frowned and looked back at her desk.

"We're havin' yer favorite..." Mrs. Cheeks continued.

"Ma, I don't have-"

"Pecan pie's for dessert."

Sandy faced the ground. She had to go, didn't she?

"Skedaddle." Mrs. Cheeks interrupted her thoughts. "We're eating in twenty minutes." Her mother turned around to leave the room. "Just slip on a top and some jeans. There's no need to get dressed up fancy."

The door shut. Sandy closed her eyes and collapsed on to her bed. Her mother still treated her as a child._ And why would Sandy wear somethin' fancy for a barbeque?_

The squirrel's eyes shot open.

SpongeBob.

Her mother thought she'd get all gussied up for SpongeBob and now she was expected to go downstairs and join him _and_ her family.

They were surely getting suspicious by now.

For two reasons:

1. Her behavior towards the sea sponge may or may not have hinted any attraction or feelings she had towards her friend.

2. She was hiding in her childhood bedroom the entire time.

Her hiding away didn't make much sense_ if _she had come to Texas to spend time with her family.

She had made her 'decision' to visit them a little over a month ago. The day had started out a happy one, with SpongeBob. He had been giving her a quick "cooking lesson" in the dining area of the Krusty Krab. His blue eyes sparkling as he stood next to her table.

"_That's the first time someone ever asked that." _SpongeBob smiled at her and then sighed, looking at the tray in his hands. _"The reason we don't do too many crazy things with our recipe is because Krabby Patties are perfect. You see, burgers are a little bit like relationships."_

Sandy laughed at his silly comparison. SpongeBob set the tray on her table. With dramatic hand gestures he began explaining his theory. _"If you have two people whose chemistry is perfect together and you add love, then you have a perfect relationship! Now, replace the word 'people' with 'toppings' and' relationships' with 'burgers'._ _If we made special patties with different ingredients, we'd have to be super careful not to choose ingredients that aren't compatible."_

Smoke started to flow out of the kitchen window. Sandy pointed it out and SpongeBob grinned, embarrassed.

"_Can we talk about this later? I have to get back to work…"_ He trailed off and took another worried glance at the kitchen door.

"_Please, go SpongeBob!" _She wondered if he had started an actual fire in the restaurant. _What if Mr. Krabs sued her for distracting his employee?_

"_I'll call you after work!"_ The fry cook called out and clumsily ran back to the kitchen, most likely to extinguish and then _cremate_ the burned patties.

Later on, in her treedome, Sandy was watching the current of the water rush over the ocean floor. It'd pick up tiny grains of sand and carry them just a few inches further in its direction. She was used to the flower clouds and the sandy floor outside of her glass dome and she grew to really appreciate it. She thought of SpongeBob and what he said. Sandy didn't believe in soul mates and such. But the thought was nice.

When her phone rang, Sandy raced to it and picked up the receiver, she was almost intrigued to see what else SpongeBob would say about his interesting comparison between Krabby Patties and people, but the voice on the other end of the line wasn't SpongeBob's. Sandy had been greeted by a lower pitched voice in a British accent.

"_Good evening Ms. Cheeks. This is Lord Reginald."_

The squirrel had said 'hello' and had asked her boss how he was doing, but the monkey had brought up business and how slow her progress had been.

But the part in their conversation Sandy remembered the most was the following: _'we would like it if you could take a 'small vacation' -if you'd like to call it that- in your hometown... to get used to the climate.'_

_That_ was why she had come to 'visit her family'.

_That _was also when she had made the spontaneous decision to create a serum. So that air-breathers, like her, could have the ability to breathe underwater. How else could she prove to her bosses that she was a valuable scientist and that she needed to be in Bikini Bottom?

Her original serum was based on sudden, overcoming emotions and was not business related.

Sandy's coming to Texas was, however, business related and not because she missed her family.

_But she couldn't let anyone know that!_

Sandy stood up and got ready. To keep any suspicions from growing, she was going to eat outside with everyone else.

* * *

><p>"Why! That's a fine spatula you've got there!" Randy marveled the spatula in SpongeBob's hands. The two were grilling in the Cheek's backyard.<p>

Mr. Cheeks had wanted to have a big Texas BBQ after his work. But once Mrs. Cheeks found out SpongeBob liked "hamburgers"; the ribs, briskets, and steaks had been replaced with burgers and patty buns.

"Where'd you find it?" Randy asked, not recognizing SpongeBob's spatula from his parent's kitchen. It made no sense to him why SpongeBob would bring his own kitchen utensils.

"_Her_ name's Fifi." The sponge said admiring his spatula before flipping another patty. "I got her from Barg'N-Mart. _Where they meet all your spatula needs!"_

Mr. Cheeks gave his own son a concerned look and went back to cooking. Randy tried not to laugh. His sister sure had brought some interesting friends.

"Does your spatula have a name?" SpongeBob then asked the squirrel.

"Nah, we don't really name stuff like that up here."

"Oh. Well, I name my Krabby Patties sometimes too. Squidward says it's childish to play with food but I'm just using my _imagination_!"

"You sure do like fast food…" Randy remarked, remembering that SpongeBob and Patrick had asked him to show them a few restaurants the other day.

"Yeah, I work at the best place ever! It's called the Krusty Krab and it smells like Kelp Fry grease and Krabby Patties and my boss is a red crab named Mr. Krabs and he's like a second father to me. Then there's Squidward, he's my second best friend. You'd think he's a squid because of his name and his six legs/arms and because he spills ink when he's nervous –well, he did that one time- but actually, he's an octopus! He's the cashier and he always sleeps on the job but that's okay, because-"

Sitting next to her mom, Sandy heard SpongeBob talk about the Krusty Krab. "Oh no." She whispered loud enough for her mother to hear.

"What's wrong, hon?"

"I'll be back in a second."

"Alright dear, don't go too far away."

Sandy gave her mom a look and then went over to where SpongeBob was. Her pa, Randy and SpongeBob were all gathered around the grill.

Randy interrupted SpongeBob's sudden outburst and description of 'the best place ever'. "You're a fry cook?"

The female squirrel pretended she hadn't heard her brother's question and spoke up before anyone could comment on the subject. "How are y'all doin'?"

"I'm doing great!" SpongeBob said, "Finally I can grill again." He hugged the grill, burned himself and quickly stood up straight.

Randy looked at the burgers on the grill. "I'm starvin'."

"Uh, that's nice. And you Pa?"

"I'm fine, thanks for askin'."

Sandy smiled and was about to ask if she could help, but the squirrel was interrupted by a sudden announcement from the patio door. Patrick stepped out of the treehouse, his arms spread out as if he were either enjoying the heat and humidity or if he were waiting for some sort of applause or reaction.

"Hello! Mammals and sponge! You're favorite star has awoken!"

Everyone turned to Patrick. _Had he really been asleep till 5:30 in the afternoon?_ SpongeBob smiled and waved to the starfish.

"Hey Patrick! Guess what?"

"Oh boy!" Patrick didn't let his best friend finish. "Are you guys making Krabby Patties for breakfast?" The starfish waddled over to the large grill where everyone but Mrs. Cheeks was standing.

Randy groaned and Sandy took Patrick's coming as a signal to leave the grill area. If Patrick was going to be stupid by the grill, she could be smart somewhere else.

She walked back over to the patio table and sat across from her mother. Mrs. Cheeks poured lemonade in two glasses and handed one of them to her daughter. They talked about the heat, the sun, the rain at nights; they talked about the weather.

"But, ain't it a beautiful day?"

Sandy nodded, a strange question creeping in to her mind. _Was it bad that SpongeBob worked at the Krusty Krab?_

"I love days like this." Mrs. Cheeks continued. "The sun's shinin', the birds are chirpin'-"

"Ma?" Sandy ignored her mom's small talk. "Do you think that a person's job says a lot about them?"

Sandy's mother frowned. "I guess it could, I don't know. Give me an example."

"Let's say _Randy_" –Sandy did not want to give her mother any clues that_ she_ was the one 'in love'- "…was all sweet on some girl and she was well, finished with school and… I don't know… a _fry cook_? Who gets payed _under_ the minimum wage? And _doesn't_ have her driver's license? Would y'all be disappointed?"

"He could do better but… If he loves her I'm fine with it. I wouldn't be too excited. But it's his decision."

Sandy nodded and rested her head on her arms. She watched SpongeBob show Randy, Patrick and her dad a trick with his spatula. Sandy's mother traced the lip of her glass, and then turned back to her daughter. "What's SpongeBob's occupation?"

Sandy's ears perked up. _What would her mother think when she said that his job was exactly what Randy's made-up love interest's was in her example?_

"Yeah, um..." Just at that moment SpongeBob and the rest of the gang came over to the patio and their conversation ended. Patrick set a plate of meat on the table. A few steaks and a lot of burger patties. Sandy didn't ask who cooked all of the burgers.

"Hi, Mrs. Cheeks! Hi, Sandy!" SpongeBob said, smiling at Sandy longer than usual. He sat down next to her. "How's the antidote going?"

"Good."

SpongeBob had become completely oblivious to the fact that Sandy's family and Patrick were also seated at the table around them. "Is it doing so well that you'd want to do some _ka-rah-tay_ later on?"

"It took me over a month to get the first serum finished and you think I can get this one finished in two and a half days?"

"Of course you could. You are Sandy Cheeks, you know…" He elbowed her and grinned.

Sandy looked at the ground. SpongeBob was the only one who didn't realize she was trying to hide a blush. Mr. Cheeks raised an eyebrow and Randy snapped his fingers to get their attention.

"Well..." Sandy's mother began, about to say something, but Patrick grabbed a patty and began squirting and smearing various sauces on top of it.

"Dig in!" Randy declared, unintentionally dismissing his mother's earlier attempt at speaking up. Everyone started to prepare their hamburgers. None of the Cheeks wanted to miss out on the burgers that SpongeBob had grilled and Patrick had boasted about. There were a ton of toppings spread out on the table and everyone would take whatever they wanted on their sandwich without asking.

Well, everyone but SpongeBob and Sandy.

"_Sandy_…" SpongeBob whispered, causing the squirrel to jump up a little in her seat. "Could you give the ketchup? I can't reach it."

Sandy smiled and leaned over the table to get the ketchup bottle. "Here."

He took it and drew a perfect heart on his patty. Sandy eyed his food, and then looked at her own.

"SpongeBob, could you hand me the-" She stopped. SpongeBob was already waiting for her to take the mustard. That was exactly what she was going to ask for. She looked at the condiment bottle and then at SpongeBob. He grinned. "Here you go, _Mademoiselle Cheeks_."

"Why thank you, Spongy." Sandy grinned back and SpongeBob giggled.

Only moments later, it happened again.

SpongeBob touched his chin with his fingers, wondering what would taste good together. He couldn't make a perfect Krabby Patty because the Cheeks had 'land ingredients' _and _he wasn't allowed to make the delicious burgers outside of the Krusty Krab kitchen, but he knew what tasted good and what didn't.

"Sandy, can I have the-" SpongeBob stopped. The squirrel was already handing him the exact thing he was going to ask for, a plate with toppings such as tomato slices and lettuce. SpongeBob looked up at her. Sandy smirked. "Did you mean this, _Señor SquarePants_?"

SpongeBob blushed as he took the plate out of her hands. "Thanks _San-day_." As soon as he _carefully _placed a piece of lettuce on his patty, he smirked.

Sandy was searching the table and SpongeBob watched her. As soon as she spoke up he grabbed the pickles jar and handed to her. "Oh, that was quick!" Sandy exclaimed, not before noticing what was going on. She smirked and the two then started their own little game.

"Sandy? Can you please- Oh, thank you!"

"Could you give me- How'd you know I wanted that?"

"I'd like the- Gee, thanks!"

"Can I have- What? Oh, thanks."

"Please pass the- Okay!"

They continued trying to give each other toppings and condiments quicker than the other could even ask for them until someone commented on their game, letting them know they had an audience.

"Why didn't you give Sandy the mayonnaise?" Patrick asked as soon as SpongeBob had finally put the bun on his patty, finishing the 'race'.

SpongeBob frowned; a bit confused to why Patrick would ask such a question. _Had Patrick been watching them?_ He looked around the table to find out that_ everyone_ was waiting for an answer. That meant Sandy's family must have been watching them too. _He had to make a good impression!_

"Sandy doesn't like mayo, so I knew she wouldn't want it on her food." He said casually and took a bite out of his own sandwich.

Sandy smiled, content with that answer, while everyone else gave each other dumbfounded looks. _Why would SpongeBob remember something as silly as that? Why did he care if Sandy didn't like a certain condiment?_

Randy wondered if Sandy's actions were also as 'thoughtful' as SpongeBob's. "_And…" _He looked at his sister. "Why didn't you give SpongeBob the BBQ sauce?"

Sandy and SpongeBob looked at each other for a second, and then Sandy turned to her brother. "Because SpongeBob likes his burgers like he likes his Krabby patties. As far as I know, Krabby Patties don't have barbeque sauce in 'em… or hot sauce." She quickly added and shook her head at Patrick, who was about to give SpongeBob the bottle of hot sauce.

And that confirmed everyone but SpongeBob's and Sandy's thoughts. That both the sea sponge and the land squirrel –no matter if their actions were subconscious or not- noticed a lot of tiny details about each other.

Randy, Patrick, SpongeBob and Sandy's mother were the ones to keep the conversations going during their meal. Sandy was too focused on her thoughts _and_ the sponge sitting beside her.

Mr. Cheeks was busy watching SpongeBob as well.

"Well…" Sandy's mother clasped her hands together near the end of their meal. Sandy remembered that they were having pecan pie for dessert and smiled as she took the last bite of her hamburger. Mrs. Cheeks looked at her husband. "Should we tell 'em?" She asked.

"You pretty much have to."

"Well," Mrs. Cheeks' smile widened. "We're all goin' together on a vacation!"

Sandy choked on her burger, SpongeBob's eyes lit up, Randy looked somewhat interested, and Patrick stared blankly at the bark of the Cheeks treehouse.

Sandy took a quick swig of lemonade and then a synchronized "What?!" came both from the scientist and her guest. SpongeBob grinned afterwards and tried to make eye contact with Sandy, but she just gaped at her parents. As soon as the lemonade glass fell out of her hands, Sandy spoke up again.

"Y'all are takin' us _where_?"

"San Antonio!" Mrs. Cheeks seemed to be the only one thrilled with the idea of their trip.

"Isn't that just three hours away?" Randy asked bluntly.

"We're only staying there for the weekend." Mr. Cheeks replied.

"That sounds wonderful!" SpongeBob exclaimed. "Where's that? Is it also in Texas?"

Okay, Mrs. Cheeks wasn't the only excited one.

Throughout the rest of the meal, it was just SpongeBob and Sandy's mother conversing about when and where they were going.

They'd stay at a nice hotel – on the house. Mrs. Cheeks said. The Cheeks were related to the owners.

They were going to go sightseeing so SpongeBob wouldn't just see Houston and the little area they lived in a bit further out of town.

And they were leaving tomorrow.

"I can't go." Sandy said, staring at her mother. Tomorrow was _way_ too soon. "I gotta get that serum finished."

"You can do that afterwards."

SpongeBob took one of her hands. "I'm fine if we postpone our karate match till later. You _have_ to come, Sandy!"

She looked at her friend. She really did have to come didn't she?

She couldn't leave SpongeBob and Patrick alone with her family.

_What kind of impression would the Cheeks get if she wasn't around to keep her two bottom feeding friends looking sane?_

_What if SpongeBob and she ever did get together and all her family members could think of when they heard SpongeBob's name was some major accident he had caused while they were on this vacation that she didn't attend?_

Sandy shook her head at the last question but then a new idea came to her.

Maybe getting out of the house may help her clear her thoughts about the sea sponge.

_Perhaps she only felt this way because her underwater life and her childhood home with all of her old memories and dreams were colliding together…_

Sandy smiled and when she looked into those beautiful blue eyes, she gave in.

"Alright, I'll come."

What she didn't realize, was that that something she saw in SpongeBob's eyes had convinced her to let him come with her in the first place. And that happened in Bikini Bottom, away from her 'childhood memories and dreams'.


	14. That's What They Thought

**It's been over 2 months!**

**I really, really love your reviews and PMing with you guys. I'm sorry that I've been taking my time uploading this chapter (and replying).**

**Life's been crazy; I was really busy and I eventually got to the point where I was so unhappy with how this story was going that I wanted to either quit writing it or remove the last chapter and scratch the San Antonio trip (which meant I'd have to start over on the whole plot). Well, I eventually just decided to continue with this story going on with its original plot. I hope those of you who are still reading this fanfic enjoy this chapter and I should probably end this author's note; it's getting way too long.**

**Thank you so much for all of your feedback! I really appreciate it! I hope y'all enjoy this chapter as well.**

**Chapter 14:**

**That's What They Thought**

* * *

><p><em>Today was the day!<em>

SpongeBob woke up with a giddy smile on his face. Today he'd be spending the whole day with his best friend, his other best friend (who happened to be his super-secret crush), and her wonderful family!

It was almost too good to be true.

Patrick was still snoring beside him, so SpongeBob took an extra couple of minutes getting ready. He admired himself in the mirror, thought of a few pickup lines he could say to Sandy but never would and then happily left the guest bedroom. All ready for the long car ride and the cheesy tourist attractions.

Halfway down the stairs, he saw Sandy sitting on the living room couch. Her fur was unkempt; she was still wearing her pajamas and was fully focused on a book in her hands.

SpongeBob studied her. She must have been working all night, probably on the antidote. The squirrel ran her fingers through her fur without taking her eyes off of the book she was reading. It looked heavy and important. At first SpongeBob thought it could be a large fairytale collection by the way it looked, but then realized that Sandy probably wouldn't stay up all night reading fairytales.

So he scratched the fairytale idea out of his head before walking down the rest of the staircase.

Sandy flipped the page and the sponge, still watching her, saw her lips forming into a smile. She was obviously looking at a picture, because she stared at one page for a long time.

_'What kind of book is she reading?'_ SpongeBob tiptoed down the rest of the stairs, not allowing his heels to touch the ground until he was right behind Sandy. He stopped when he reached the back of back of the couch and leaned over to catch a glimpse of her book.

When he saw the picture, confusion struck him like lightning.

The picture his friend was staring at was the last thing he'd expected.

"Why are you looking at baby sponges?"

"Ah!" The squirrel slammed the book shut and spun around. Under her fur, her cheeks were bright red.

SpongeBob looked at the cover of the book. _Sea sponges?_

_Why was Sandy reading a book about sea sponges?_

"I was checkin' about y'all's breathin'!" She glanced at the book in her lap and covered the book's title with her paws.

"What do babies have to do with my breathing?"

Sandy slid the book under her arm. "I- I-"

The sponge, oblivious to her discomfort, jumped onto the seat next to her.

"Can I look at them too? Babies are so cute!"

They stared at each other; SpongeBob waited eagerly for her answer and Sandy was so utterly embarrassed from being caught that she didn't know what to say.

Their staring contest, as SpongeBob interpreted it, was broken off by the sound of someone stomping down the stairs.

"There you are, SpongeBob!" Patrick squealed, ran up to the two creatures sitting on the couch and threw his arms around the sea sponge, squeezing the air out of him. Once Patrick let go, SpongeBob spun around to look at his friend.

"You're up, Patrick!" SpongeBob smiled and Sandy was thankful that the book in her hands wasn't on the sea creature's mind anymore.

"Are you excited about our vacation?" SpongeBob asked.

"I'm excited about our vacation! Are _you_ excited about our vacation?"

"I'm excited about our vacation! Are _you_ excited about- Sandy! Where are you going?" The two marine animals watched the squirrel rush out of the living room.

"I'm just getting ready." She called out, taking the book with her.

SpongeBob made a face and then leaned further into the couch cushion, Patrick following suit. They looked at each other and then back to the oak wood coffee table. SpongeBob sighed.

"I'm worried about Sandy."

He looked back at Patrick, but the starfish hadn't been listening.

"Huh? Why are you looking at me like that? Am I supposed to answer something? 'A'! No 'C'! Wait," Patrick squinted his eyes, "is this a trick question?"

"No Patrick, I was just pointing out that Sandy's been acting funny."

"Maybe she knows you like her."

The sponge shook his head at the innuendo of Patrick's absurd question and sat up straight.

"_Of course_ she knows I like her. We've been best friends for a long time!"

"_Best_ friends?" Patrick eyed the friendship ring on SpongeBob's finger.

"Sandy's my third best friend, Patrick. You're the first, Squidward's the second, then comes Sandy, Mr. Krabs is the -"

"Okay, okay! You're getting me all confused with all those letters!"

_'Letters?'_ SpongeBob stopped counting his friends and folded his hands. "I know Sandy knows I like her because we're friends and friends like each other."

Patrick raised an eyebrow for a split second, then sat back and didn't say anything. The starfish had already zoned out of their conversation, while SpongeBob began to panic. A million questions suddenly invading his thoughts.

Did Patrick mean like, or like-like? Did Sandy know that he like-liked her? And if that was the case, how would she know? How would Patrick know? Did someone read his diary- Oh right. Squidward did. But that was his work diary… Did someone read his real, secret diary? The one with- He shook his head one more time.

'_Don't worry about this, SquarePants –Fish paste! When would they have read my diary?!' _

SpongeBob looked around, worrying about the sudden questions streaming into his consciousness until he couldn't keep them inside any longer.

"Patrick. How longdo you think she knows?" The sponge asked. Patrick looked at his friend, having already forgotten what they were talking about, but SpongeBob looked like he needed an answer.

"What, SpongeBob?"  
>The sponge hesitated before lowering his voice to a whisper. "Do you think she's known it all along?"<p>

"No. I mean, I don't even know what she's supposed to know and so, how should I think I know if she knows that you think something that I forgot? I think."

* * *

><p>And well… Sandy didn't know it all along.<p>

The pieces in her head were just now starting to come together, yet her brain was much more focused on sorting out her own feelings.

She kicked the heavy book under her bed and swung her old closet door open. She should have packed last night. _Should_ have.

But how could she when all she thought was how plan 'Avoid SpongeBob' had failed? How his blue eyes seemed to sparkle every time he looked at her? And how their fingers touched for the briefest moment in history when she took the bottle of ketchup out of his hands? How those few butterflies in her stomach that'd come up whenever he smiled had exponentially multiplied into a swarm ever since they left Bikini Bottom…

She was crushin' on him like a little schoolgirl and it needed to stop.

She looked at the shirts and dresses and hung up blue jeans inside her old closet. She had unpacked the clothes in her suitcase and hung them up in her closet the day she came. Then there were old memory clothes like her first karate suit and merchandise t-shirts with her schools' names and slogans printed on it.

But the pineapple dress from Hawaii was the first thing that caught her attention.

She hadn't worn it yet.

And after the whole mess with SpongeBob she didn't _want_ to wear it. _What would he think if she walked downstairs wearing an outfit with his house displayed all over it?_

Sandy grabbed a few things from her closet, changed, packed, brushed her fur and teeth and then let her thoughts drift off to her new favorite _and_ least favorite subject: SpongeBob.

She liked him. No doubt about that.

She liked the freckles on his cheeks and those dimples that appeared when he smiled. She liked his smile, a lot.

She liked his buckteeth and the way the tip of his nose was slightly curved upwards.

And she _loved_ those blue eyes.

But the most of all, she liked his personality.

He was funny -sometimes he could be a little annoying- but wasn't that one of the first things she noticed, _his great sense of humor?_

He liked karate too.

And he loved everyone.

_Who couldn't love a fella as pure hearted as SpongeBob?_

Even Squidward had a soft spot for the little square dude.

The more she thought about it; the more she wanted him to know.

She wanted him to know that his eyes were the most beautiful shade of blue she'd ever seen and that his smile cheered her up more than anything else in the world, as long as it was a genuine SpongeBob smile and not some kind of 'I'm-sorry-I-ruined-your-invention' kind of smile.

But she couldn't tell him any of that, _b__ecause, what if he didn't feel the same way__?_

And he didn't.

She knew that just like she knew how to lasso bullfrogs blindfolded with her hands tied behind her back and- wait that didn't work.

Sandy shook her head.

SpongeBob was too childish to ever have feelings like that for someone; despite whatever he said on the pier. SpongeBob was only capable of puppy love.

_At least, that's what she thought._

"Sandy? We're all waitin' for you."

The squirrel spun around to see her dad in the doorway.

"Oh sorry," she quickly kneeled down to zip up her suitcase. "I was distracted."

Her father mused on her for a moment, and then turned around. "She's awake!" He called downstairs. Then he lowered his voice and faced his daughter again. "You alright, darlin'?" The look on his face showed nothing but concern.

She shrugged it off. "I'm fine, Pa."

"What about that invention?" Sandy's dad pointed towards her desk. The ingredients were still scattered across the wooden desktop. Sandy looked at the mess and then turned to her dad.

"I reckon it'll be finished before I leave."

"Remember, it was yer mom's decision to go on a vacation, not mine."

"I just have to have it finished by the time we leave." Sandy explained. "If SpongeBob can't breathe water he'll have to stay at my house and I..." She trailed off and smiled, exhausted.

Mr. Cheeks laughed and nudged her with his elbow. "We wouldn't want that, would we?"

Before Sandy could roll her eyes, her cheeks began to burn. Her eyes widened and she quickly faced the wall opposite of her dad. _What if he caught her blushing?_

But worrying about it only made her cheeks redder… _'Don't blush. Don't blush, Sandy!'_

"You sure you're okay, sweet pea?"

Sandy bit her lip, frantically searching for a reason why she had turned around so suddenly. Her eyes landed on an old stuffed animal on her shelf. "I forgot to pack-" she looked at the toy for a second, trying to remember its name. "Bronco the Bullfrog!" She grabbed the stuffed animal off of her shelf and hugged it, pressing her face against Bronco, hoping the blush would go away. "I couldn't live a day without poor old Bronco, y'know?"

"Bronco's been sittin' there since you started sixth grade."

"Well, I just..." Sandy looked up at her dad. "I need to revive my relationship with the poor fella that's all."

Mr. Cheeks gave his daughter a concerned look and left the room.

With Bronco under her arm, Sandy dragged her luggage and followed suit.

This wasn't good. This wasn't good at all.

Sandy Cheeks was losing her sanity due to a tiny crush on SpongeBob SquarePants.

And of course the first person she saw downstairs was SpongeBob himself.

He eyed Bronco for a second, and then smiled at Sandy.

The squirrel grinned back like a sixteen year old on her first date.

There he was, standing right therein front her parents' doorway. So many boys had stood there, waiting for her to come out and play, walking inside the Cheeks' house and wiping the dirt off of their feet on the rug, picking her up from prom, but for some strange reason, the yellow, square shaped sponge was the only one she ever wanted to see waiting there for her.

"Can we go now or are y'all just gonna stare at each other for another five minutes?" Randy asked.

Sandy widened her eyes in shock, from both Randy's question and from her own reaction to having seen SpongeBob.

This crush was getting out of hand.

The rest of the Cheeks family turned around to look at her and Sandy buried her flushed face in the stuffed animal in her arms.

* * *

><p>SpongeBob, Sandy and Patrick landed in the Cheeks' old van with both of Sandy's parents.<p>

Sandy and SpongeBob sat by the windows; Patrick had fallen asleep in the seat between the two.

SpongeBob thought about the stuffed animal in Sandy's lap for a brief moment, and then leaned back and looked out of the window.

_'I like her. Who wouldn't like her? She's pretty and smart and nice and there's something so special about her and no. I'm not just saying that because she's a squirrel.'_

SpongeBob let his gaze flit back to her for a moment.

She was looking out of the window, her head resting against it and a paw on the windowsill. SpongeBob could tell something was troubling her by the way her brows were furrowed and her lips slightly pouted, but he didn't know what she could be thinking of.

He liked to watch her think though. And when she turned around and looked at him, he smiled. Their gaze met, and SpongeBob could feel a blush spread across his cheeks.

For a second he wondered if he should confess his feelings to her right then in the car. To finally get it over with and then see where the future takes them. But the thought alone made his hands sweat and his heart pound faster. Besides he wasn't ready and they were in a car with both of her parents _and_ Patrick was drooling right between the two of them.

Sandy turned back to the window, and SpongeBob did as well, caught up in his own thoughts. He needed that moment to be _really _special.

He could give her a long, carefully written letter declaring his undying love for her or a bouquet of a hundred red roses. He knew she liked the pink flowers he always brought her, but weren't red roses practically a synonym to 'I love you.'?

SpongeBob looked at Sandy again. He couldn't do either one of those. First, he didn't have the money to buy so many flowers _and_ feed Gary a whole month (the sponge could filter feed if necessary) and words couldn't describe the way he felt for her. Secondly, he was scared, _b__ecause, what if she didn't feel the same way?_

Sandy was too good for him. Even with his handsome looks, hilarious _and_ charming personality and the not-to-forget 5-star fry cooking skills, a squirrel like Sandy wouldn't fall for him.

She liked guys like Larry: muscular, strong, tan, and handsome. Sandy deserved the best of guys, and while Larry definitely wasn't the best of fish, SpongeBob wasn't perfect either.

Sandy would never fall for a guy like him.

_At least, that's what he thought.  
><em>


	15. Remembering the Alamo

**First: THANK YOU so much for over 100 reviews! I never expected this much feedback on this story and am so, so happy that so many of you are enjoying this story. I really appreciate it; thank you.**

**Well… here's a chapter full of Texas pride! (No seriously, almost a thousandth of the words in this chapter are the word "Texas"...) ****This one turned out shorter than most chapters, but the next one should be longer... anyway, I hope you all enjoy this chapter. :)**

**Chapter 15:**

**Remembering the Alamo (for all the wrong reasons)**

* * *

><p>The Cheeks family and the two sea creatures -one with helmet, one without- had checked into their hotel and transformed into a group of sightseeing tourists ever since Mrs. Cheeks walked out of a gift shop with three large bags in her paws and Patrick found his old Polaroid camera.<p>

But like magnets, two particular travelers out of the group ended up walking right next to each other without saying a word to another. As if they were attracted to each other in some mysterious way -for _him_ when it came to the magnets and for _her_ when it came to love. Being so close, their hands occasionally brushed against each other and it felt like sizzler magnets sounded.

SpongeBob's skin would tingle, his heart would leap, and what seemed like a swarm of jellyfish would flutter inside of him; he wished Sandy felt the same way.

But sizzler magnets got boring after a while, just like the awkward, frustrating silence that'd squeezed in between the two ever since Sandy had been caught with the sea sponge book in her hands that morning.

"This place is nice." SpongeBob broke the ice.

"Ain't it just the prettiest thing you've ever seen?" Sandy agreed. "Texas." She said and gave a long, satisfied sigh. "Texas skies. Texas architecture. Texas-"

"…squirrels?" SpongeBob asked and nudged his friend.

"Why! That's awful swe-" Sandy stopped short and swallowed hard as she felt her cheeks warm up. _'What did he just say?'_ She turned to look at the sponge. He was smirking, but his sly expression disappeared as Sandy began to delay the last part of her reply.

The squirrel was trying to suppress a smile and failing miserably at it.

SpongeBob watched her struggle for a moment, but rubbed the back of his neck as he spoke up himself. "Do you really think squirrels are awful?"

Had he said the same thing a few weeks ago, Sandy would have thanked him, possibly blushed, and then shrugged it off. But now, her behavior reminded him of the way he always feared he acted like around her. Flustered or blushing, smiling, waving the compliments off with her hands as if it were too much for her to handle... a_s if she felt the same way…_

The smile Sandy had tried hiding won and reached her eyes. For a moment, while sending sudden smile back in her direction, SpongeBob wondered if Sandy had ever bleached her teeth. The squirrel changed the subject. "Texas in general is just perfect. Don't ya think?"

The Lone Star State was not Bikini Bottom, and not even the endless Texas skies could compare to the flower clouded sea over SpongeBob's home, but he was glad his friend had a hometown to be proud of too.

When he didn't give her an answer immediately –other than a smile that looked more dazed than confirming- Sandy continued talking without any conformation. "Aw shucks, SpongeBob. You have no idea where we're going next, do you?"

He shook his head. Sandy's smile quickly changed from a giddy, almost childish smile to one similar to the expression she made when sharing her own scientific success or explaining a theory she was particularly proud of.

"We're going to the Alamo." She told him. "It's the most famous sightseein' place in Texas. San Antonio is rich with history, and Ma's a big fan of that..." She trailed on. Her eyes flit to his as she talked and she stuttered more than usual, but SpongeBob was too busy watching the girl beside him to notice the tinge of anxiety in the normally fearless squirrel's voice. He watched her eyes light up and studied the various gestures her hands made as she talked. And when those warm brown eyes looked at him, SpongeBob didn't know if it was the southern heat or those eyes and that smile that made his knees weak, his thoughts blurry and his whole body feel like it was about to melt.

The wind that blew through her fur suited Sandy.

The out-of-water sunlight suited Sandy.

Texas suited Sandy.

She smiled more. She was happy. She belonged.

SpongeBob's smile dropped. Sandy should belong in Bikini Bottom like that.

_Why couldn't the ocean current rush through her fur like the breezes here? Why couldn't her bare paws touch the grass in Jellyfish fields like they did when she picked those wildflowers near her home a few days ago? Why couldn't-_

"SpongeBob? Did ya hear me?" Sandy asked, finally tearing the sponge out of his thoughts and back into San Antonio. "I said 'Texas became its very own country.'" The squirrel repeated and stopped walking. She tapped her foot on the ground a few times.

SpongeBob gulped. "I thought Texas was in the United States."

"SpongeBob!" The squirrel gasped. "I'm talkin' 1836. The Texas Republic. They didn't teach y'all that in History lessons?"

He shook his head. "We didn't learn anything about what happens on land."

"Well, they should've taught ya that. Oh look! There's the Alamo!" She pointed to a strange looking building further down the street. "We better hurry up or else we'll have ta wait even longer in line!" The squirrel picked up her pace and so did SpongeBob. They arrived much, much earlier than Sandy's parents, and Sandy didn't even look back to see if they and Patrick and Randy were catching up. SpongeBob did; Patrick waved to him from the distance.

And despite Sandy's positive descriptions of the Alamo, the "Shrine of Texas Liberty" didn't look very squirrel and sponge friendly. There were humans taking pictures, standing in line, having their picture taken, looking at their phones, and talking to each other and they were _everywhere_.

"Are you sure we're allowed to go in there?" SpongeBob asked. Instead of answering, Sandy dragged him inside the old shrine, which, from the inside, was much like a large, echoing hall with a bunch of flags in it. The flags were from other states and countries, Sandy explained. "The flags represent the places the soldiers were from. Look at that one. That's-"

SpongeBob interrupted her. "Weren't the soldiers Texans?"

A deadpanned expression was her first answer, and then she spoke. "Texas didn't exist like it does now."

"I thought it was a country..."

"Were you even listenin' to me?"

SpongeBob blushed. He'd been caught.

But before the squirrel could continue her tourist guiding, _they were caught._

_"A squirrel!"_ A human woman shrieked and pointed towards Sandy, whose eyes grew larger than Texas itself (not literally, of course). Sandy raced out of the building, leaving SpongeBob alone to face the huge sandaled foot swung in his direction.

He was out of the dangerous building before Sandy, but he had flown instead of ran out of it.

While the human's kick or the harsh crash against the flagstone didn't hurt him due to his spongy exterior and lack of spine, he was more shaken by it all than his vertebrate friend, who had escaped the building just in time. She collapsed onto the ground next to SpongeBob, laughing.

"I'm so glad I finally got in to the most important building in Texas!" Sandy said, grinning at the sea sponge. "I mean, I've seen it before, but never from the inside! Thanks for accompanying me, partner! It's a real shame those humans threw us out." She said as she stood up and helped her friend up as well.

The sponge shuddered once more at the thought of the shoe accelerating in his direction. "I'm not so sure if they _want_ us in their buildings..." He watched more human tourists line up to get inside the museum, while the rest of the Cheeks and Patrick arrived to where SpongeBob and Sandy were standing.

"Looks like y'all slowpokes finally caught up." Sandy grinned. Randy playfully rolled his eyes and their mother clasped her hands together, smiling that the group had reunited again.

"Okay, everyone. Let's all just take a moment to remember the Alamo!" The older squirrel exclaimed and gestured towards the adobe building.

SpongeBob nodded quickly and started walking away. "Don't worry, Mrs. Cheeks. I'll definitely remember it. Can we go see something else now?"

Mrs. Cheeks frowned. "Well, I guess we could… but…"

"SpongeBob got kicked out." Sandy explained.

"What was he doing _inside _the Alamo?" Randy asked, his eyes widening. "We're animals. We ain't supposed to go_ inside_ the monuments…"

Patrick's eyes widened as well. "Wow, SpongeBob! I can't believe_ you_ got kicked out of a museum!"

Mrs. Cheeks took out her map and directed the group where to go next. SpongeBob was pulled into an in depth conversation about Squidward's nose by none other than Patrick Star and Randy caught up with his sister.

Sandy didn't mind walking with her brother, out of all of her family members he was the one she felt the most comfortable around. She'd lived her whole out-of-water life with him and he the same with her, minus fifteen minutes. They went to the same schools, had a bunch of the same friends, slept in rooms just across the hall from each other, and had been pretty much inseparable throughout childhood.

"So..." The male squirrel drawled as soon as they were out of earshot of any sea creatures or parents. His lips formed a boyish, buck-toothed grin. "How long is this gonna last?"

The female returned her brother's smile, but frowned as soon as she realized he wasn't going to explain himself just like that. "What's 'gonna last'?"

"Don't act all innocent, Sandy. We all know what's going on." He left her a moment to either think or object, but she just stared at him. "Ma and Pa won't stop talkin' about it and I can sense it from a mile away." Randy continued, nudging Sandy as if what he was hinting at was the most obvious secret there was.

"Oh, you mean that old truck Pa's tryin' to fix. The Chevy?" The squirrel looked around, her parents weren't anywhere near them. She lowered her voice. "Do you think he's gonna give it to you?"

Randy's eyes widened. "I haven't thought of that. But... no."

Sandy hesitated; a phone call from an only two days ago squeezed its way into her frazzled mind. Being in love was confusing. And she'd spent the last thirty minutes with the guy in question. "My… _job_?"

"What's wrong with yer job?"

"Nothin'." Sandy bit her lip to shut herself up and bit even harder when another thought came to mind. _'But Randy wouldn't come up with that.' _She told herself. _'We may be close, we ain't that close.'_

"You know why we're here right?" Randy asked. "Because our parent's couldn't stand you hidin' away in yer room any longer…"

Sandy sighed. "I know, Randy. I've been really, really busy and I-"

"That's not what I meant." Randy's grin dissolved into a frown, somewhat resembling that of their father. "You gotta tell 'em soon, Sandy. Ma's getting all worked up over it." He whispered, the look in his eyes showing nothing but concern.

"Over what?"

Randy hesitated; he bit his lip, looked around and sighed before finally giving an answer.

"Over you keepin' your boyfriend and y'all's relationship a secret for so long…"


End file.
